Will Obama’s second term change prospects for climate?

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In his inaugural speech, President Obama made climate change a central priority of his second term: “We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations.”  This marked a significant shift from his first term and last falls election when climate change was barely mentioned.  But 2012 was the hottest year on record with extreme weather events from summer droughts to destructive storms like Hurricane Sandy.  And records show a warming trend — we’ve had more than 333 straight months of above-average temperatures according to a recent NOAA climate report. So what can the President do to combat climate change and where does the planet stand in terms of warming weather, greenhouse emissions, and rising seas.  We’ll talk with BENJAMIN HORTON, an Associate Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science at the University of Pennsylvania, ADAM LANGLEY, a Global Change Ecologist and assistant professor in the Biology Department at Villanova University and TOM ZELLER, senior environmental reporter for The Huffington Post.

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