President Barack Obama arrived in Palm Springs, California on Saturday via Air Force One to spend Father’s Day playing golf. Hours earlier, he had lectured graduating students at University of California, Irvine, about the need to “do something” about climate change, mocking those who questioned that policy goal.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) encourages reducing unnecessary air travel to minimize carbon dioxide emissions. Golf courses are also frequent targets of environmentalists–especially in southern California, where a severe drought has placed a spotlight on golf courses’ use of scarce water resources.
In his address, Obama told graduates they had a personal obligation to act on climate change: “You need to invest in what helps, and divest from what harms. And you’ve got to remind everyone who represents you, at every level of government, that doing something about climate change is a prerequisite for your vote.”
The golfing trip to Palm Springs is Obama’s second so far this year. In February, he golfed in Palm Springs after delivering a speech in the drought-stricken Central Valley about his efforts to help affected farmers. He moved a meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah to Palm Springs instead of Washington, D.C. to facilitate his golfing trip.
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