‘Demand more’: Obama calls for people to stand against climate change as Trump lies about air and water quality
Barack Obama has warned that the climate crisis "will force far harsher changes" on future generations than the coronavirus pandemic and urged people to "demand more" from leadership to protect the planet.
In a message on Twitter on Earth Day, the former president shared an Associated Press report about the young climate activists that have galvanised a global movement 50 years after Earth day was recognised, and how the youth-led movement has adapted to the current health crisis.
He said: "All of us should follow the young people who've led the efforts to protect our planet for generations, and demand more of our leaders at every level."
His successor Donald Trump meanwhile marked Earth Day's 50th anniversary by planting a tree outside the White House and declaring the US to have "the cleanest air and cleanest water than anywhere else on Earth" — it does not.
The nation's air quality has been in decline for several years, scientists and researchers have reported, including the American Lung Association's recent State of the Air report that found nearly half of the US, roughly 150 million people, is breathing polluted air.
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