President Obama Golfs With Oil Execs During Weekend of Climate Rally

When it Comes to Climate, Wildlife Supporters Advocate for Birdies NOT Bogeys

This past weekend, something remarkable happened — more than 35,000 people came to Washington D.C. from all over the country to make sure President Obama heard our message: take action on climate, reject the Keystone XL pipeline. So, was President Obama listening while we took to the streets in the dead of winter? It’s hard to tell. While thousands of Americans marched in the cold to call for action on climate, the President was in Florida ‘on the green’ with leading figures in the Texas oil and gas execs. For most Washington insiders this can be chalked up to par for the course, but for a president who has stressed the urgency of addressing climate change this is a bogey.

An Invitation to the President

The President’s golf game got us to thinking, how willing is he to check out things from our perspective? Jim Murphy, National Wildlife Federation’s senior counsel and tar sands campaigner, issued an invitation:

“President Obama, we realize that this is how business gets done in Washington, which is why we’d like to formally invite you to trade in your golf spikes for some hiking boots. So next time you’re down in Florida, come with us on a tour of the Everglades, where wildlife like sea turtles and Key Deer are losing crucial habitat due to climate change. Or if you’d like something closer to home, hang out with us at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, one of the country’s best waterfowl habitats that’s facing catastrophic sea level rise.  We can’t promise a caddy, but we guarantee it will be a lot of fun.”

President Obama says he’s serious about combating climate change, but he needs to show his commitment by rejecting Keystone XL. If 40,000 people marching in Washington D.C. wasn’t enough to make our message loud and clear then we’ll get louder.  This past week is just more evidence that we need to raise our voices to make sure he is standing up for people and wildlife.

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