President Barack Obama’s trip to see Florida’s Everglades for Earth Day has racked up quite the carbon footprint. According to government estimates, his one-day trip emits as much carbon dioxide as 17 passenger vehicles do in one year of driving.
Obama announced over the weekend he would be visiting the Everglades Wednesday to highlight how the region could be lost to rising sea levels and more extreme weather if nothing is done to stop global warming. In weekly address video, he said:
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.
So climate change can no longer be denied – or ignored.
But what Obama forgot to mention was that he would be taking the fossil-fueled Air Force One down to the southern Florida to highlight the impacts of global warming — which he says is caused by fossil fuels. CBS News reporter Mark Knoller noted the environmental footprint of Obama’s journey.
Pres Obama’s Earth Day trip will cover 1,836 miles roundtrip and consume 9,180 gallons of fuel on Air Force One.
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) April 22, 2015
Using the Obama EPA’s carbon footprint calculator, the Daily Caller News Foundation found that Obama’s Air Force One flight will emit 90 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. To put this into perspective, it’s the same carbon footprint as 17.2 cars driving for the year. It’s also the same as burning nearly 88,000 pounds of coal or burning 190 barrels of crude oil. But Obama will not be going to the Everglades alone (well, not including his staff and Secret Service). Bill Nye, the “Science Guy,” will be joining him on Air Force One to highlight the how global warming is threatening the world.
Heading down to DC to catch an #EarthDay flight on Air Force One tomorrow with the President. We’re going to #ActOnClimate.
— Bill Nye (@BillNye) April 21, 2015
That said, the excitement, much like #ClimateChange, is real.
— Bill Nye (@BillNye) April 21, 2015
Nye, who is not actually a scientist, is serious about fighting global warming and often appears in the media to sound the alarm on global temperature rises. But as The Daily Caller’s Jamie Weinstein notes, Nye “won’t let his concern get in the way of a super cool life experience” of riding Air Force One.
This report, by Michael Bastasch, was cross-posted by arrangement with the Daily Caller News Foundation.
