Is it the American public that needs to be stirred to take measures to prevent climate change, or our nation’s political officials?
President Obama is set to give a major speech outlining energy policy proposals to address climate change.
In a speech in Berlin last week, Mr. Obama called climate change “the global threat of our time” and promised swift action to avert it.
The centerpiece of this speech is expected to be a plan to push for new regulations to curb greenhouse-gas emissions from existing power plants.
But part of what makes it so hard to make a case for climate change is the fact that the United States is in the midst of a tremendous energy boom.
As the president noted in his 2012 State of the Union address, U.S. oil production hit an eight year high last year.
So in a time when energy resources seem abundant, how do you make a compelling political or rhetorical case for reforming policy? How do you get Americans to see climate and energy issues with any kind of urgency?
Jill Stein, environmental activist and former Green Party nominee for president, joins us to discuss the president’s speech and American attitudes toward energy policy.