Mount McKinley in Denali National Park, Alaska
Shrinking glaciers, Arctic temperatures and a mix of messy energy politics await President Barack Obama on his trip to Alaska. Even before he departed, Obama was making waves with a decision to rename Alaska’s famed Mount McKinley despite a backlash.
Obama departed yesterday morning (local time) for a three-day tour of the largest U.S. state, aiming to call attention to the ways Obama says climate change is already damaging Alaska’s stunning scenery. By showcasing thawing permafrost, melting sea ice and eroding shorelines, Obama hopes to raise a sense of urgency to slow climate change in the U.S. and overseas.
His excursion north of the Arctic Circle will make Obama the first sitting president to step foot in the Alaska Arctic, home to Alaska Natives who have received less attention amid Obama’s recent efforts to improve conditions for Native Americans in the mainland U.S.
In a major show of solidarity, Obama just announced that his administration is changing the name of North America’s tallest peak, the 6,193-meter Mount McKinley, to Denali, its traditional Athabascan name.
Obama’s move to strip the mountain of its name honoring former President William McKinley drew loud condemnations from lawmakers in his native state of Ohio.
Obama was to hold a listening session with Alaska Natives before speaking at a climate-focused Arctic summit, which involves leaders from Arctic and non-Arctic nations.
Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry are intensely focused on a global climate treaty that nations hope to finalize in December, as the president works to secure his environmental legacy before leaving office.
Obama has pledged a U.S. cut in greenhouse gas emissions of up to 28 percent by 2030, compared to 2005 levels, and planned to use the Alaska visit to press other nations to commit to similarly ambitious measures.
Kerry told reporters in Alaska on Sunday that climate change skeptics won’t be remembered kindly.
“I think the people who are slow to come to this table will be written up by historians as having been some of the folks most irresponsible in understanding and reacting to scientific analysis,” Kerry said.
Obama will also go on a boat tour today of Kenai Fjords National Park and to hike to Exit Glacier, a sprawling expanse of ice that is retreating, in what environmentalists say is a dramatic sign of warming temperatures.
In Dillingham, in southwest Alaska, Obama will meet tomorrow with fishermen locked in an conflict with miners over plans to build a massive gold and copper mine in Bristol Bay, home to the world’s largest salmon fishery. Then he’ll fly north to Kotzebue in the Alaska Arctic to focus on the plight of rural, Native villages where livelihoods are threatened by climate change. Josh Lederman, Washington, AP
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