Bill McKibben speaks truth,  and Obama went a long way toward answering the question as to whether or not he has turned a corner toward becoming the leader in the White House on this issue of climate.  This,  18 months before the next election,  indicates he still doesn’t get it.

what’s most extreme here is the irresponsibility of Shell, now abetted by the White House. A quarter century ago, scientists warned that if we kept burning fossil fuel at current rates we’d melt the Arctic. The fossil fuel industry (and most everyone else in power) ignored those warnings, and what do you know: The Arctic is melting, to the extent that people now are planning to race yachts through the Northwest Passage, which until very recently required an icebreaker to navigate.Now, having watched the Arctic melt, does Shell take that experience and conclude that it’s in fact time to invest heavily in solar panels and wind turbines? No. Instead, it applies to be first in line to drill for yet more oil in the Chukchi Sea, between Alaska and Siberia. Wash, rinse, repeat. Talk about salting wounds and adding insult to injury: It’s as if the tobacco companies were applying for permission to put cigarette machines in cancer wards

via Obama’s Catastrophic Climate-Change Denial – NYTimes.com.

Update:  this is relevant, and hopeful….but will he?
RT @greenpeaceusa: #Arctic Council & StDept Rep Admiral Papp says @BarackObama can still pull Arctic plug on Shell:
bit.ly/1GpkIzH