A New Presidential Term for Climate Change

President Obama's second term has begun with a strong stance in support of a U.S. transition to a clean energy economy. In the second-term President's inauguration speech yesterday, he zeroed in on climate change and its implications for future generations. Weaving together themes from the U.S. Constitution and the 2009 carbon cap-and-trade debates, President Obama stated that: "We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires and crippling drought and more powerful storms. [More]