After successfully deploying a banner 65 feet tall by 35 feet wide, our climbers have come down and have been taken into custody by authorities. But they got our message out loud and clear:
Our brave climbers rappelled down the face of Mt. Rushmore today to issue a challenge to President Obama: If he wants to get his face on this monument, he needs to be a true leader on global warming, not a politician.
The 60-foot tall heads on Mt. Rushmore represent four former presidents, all brave leaders who rose to the challenges of their times. For instance, there’s George Washington, our country’s first president. He’s known as the “Father of His Country” because when the American colonies were in crisis, he stepped up and led our forces in the Revolutionary War.
Obama now has the chance to lead our forces in an energy revolution. But instead of leading on global warming, Obama’s playing politics. He said it was time to “restore science to its rightful place” in his inaugural address, but sat back and watched as science was all but stripped from the Waxman-Markey climate legislation altogether at the behest of the fossil fuels and energy industries.
The worst part about this weak legislation is that it will not only keep America heading towards a full-speed, head-on collision with runaway climate change, but it will provide the cover for other developed countries to shirk their obligations to reduce emissions as well. President Obama needs a strong, science-based piece of legislation so that he can go to Copenhagen in December, when the next round of UN climate talks are scheduled to take place, and push for what science demands: 25 to 40% cuts in emissions below 1990 levels by 2020, and 80 to 95% cuts by 2050. Anything less and we’re headed for disaster.
So we took this opportunity, as Obama meets with the other G8 leaders in L’Aquila, Italy, to send President Obama a message: “America honors leaders, not politicians. Stop Global Warming.” You can take action too, by signing our petition calling on Obama to be a leader on climate change policy in the US and internationally.
