President Obama addresses climate change in UC Irvine commencement speech

President Obama addresses climate change in UC Irvine commencement speech
(Image credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

President Barack Obama gave the commencement speech at the University of California, Irvine today, and he focused heavily on the dangers of climate change.

"I'm telling you all this because I want to light a fire under you," he said. "The climate change deniers suggest there's still a debate over the science. There's not. The talking heads on cable news suggest public opinion is hopelessly deadlocked. It's not."

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"There's going to be a stubborn status quo and people determined to stymie your efforts to bring about change," he said. "There are going to be people who say you can't do something. There are going to be people who say you shouldn't bother trying. I've got some experience with this myself."

Watch the full address via C-SPAN.org.

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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.