Obama announces Earth Day trip to Florida to highlight dangers of climate change

Barack Obama
(Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

President Barack Obama announced in his weekly address that he will travel to the Florida Everglades on Wednesday, which is Earth Day, to bring attention to the dangers of climate change.

"Fourteen of the 15 hottest years on record have fallen in the first 15 years of this century," Obama says. "This winter was cold in parts of our country — as some folks in Congress like to point out — but around the world, it was the warmest ever recorded."

Florida has recently been in the news for how its legislators are addressing — or not — the problem of climate change. The Washington Post notes that Governor Rick Scott's administration reportedly tried to "ban" state officials from using the term, and presidential hopeful Sen. Marco Rubio voted against an amendment that would have stated that "human activity significantly contributes" to climate change.

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Watch Obama's prelude to his Wednesday speech on the topic, below. —Sarah Eberspacher

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Sarah Eberspacher

Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.