Obama's Gigantic Carbon Footprint

Many are calling the environment-loving President Obama a hypocrite after the discovery that his trip to the UN climate change summit in Paris left an enormous carbon footprint. To be exact, his private jet emitted about as much CO2 as 72 passenger vehicles would in a whole year of driving.

This isn’t the first time the president has been criticized for utilizing Air Force One jets in the name of fighting climate change. His one-day trip to the Florida Everglades on Earth Day emitted about as much CO2 as 17 cars do in one year of driving. During his Florida trip, which cost taxpayers over $866,000, Obama highlighted the importance of the Everglades ecosystem. He warned that if nothing is done to stop global warming, the entire region, along with the valuable tourism industry, could be lost. 

“The Everglades is one of the most special places in our country. But it’s also one of the most fragile. Rising sea levels are putting a national treasure – and an economic engine for the South Florida tourism industry – at risk,” said the man who burned 90 tons of carbon dioxide on Earth Day. “Climate change can no longer be denied – or ignored.” 

Obama’s goals were similar during the Paris summit, where he urged world leaders to sign a global agreement to cut down on CO2 emissions. “Now, we’ve made a lot of progress to cut carbon pollution here at home, and we’re leading the world to take action as well,” said Obama after vetoing the important Phase IV of the Keystone Pipeline. “But we’ve got to do more. In a few weeks, I’m heading to Paris to meet with world leaders about a global agreement to meet this challenge.”

Over 40,000 attended the Paris summit. When asked about the massive footprint this will cause, the UN replied that the “French government will offset all emissions from travel of registered participants, as well as those from the conference facilities and local operations” by paying into the Adaptation Fund (a fund set up in 2001 to support global warming adaptation efforts).  

How can Obama, let alone other global elites, expect the world to listen when he is doing the very thing he is asking us to stop?