President Obama addresses climate change in UC Irvine commencement speech

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."

He also called the nearly 8,000 undergraduate and graduate students to action, as the address came just two weeks after Obama announced a new plan to cut power plant pollution.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"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.