President Jabs Climate Skeptics Who 'Still Deny the Overwhelming Judgment of Science' in Inaugural Address

Although President Barack Obama was largely silent about the issue of climate change in his campaign, he took up the topic during his inaugural address Jan. 21 in Washington, D.C.

As Buzzfeed's Andrew Kaczynski put it:

In his speech, Obama acknowledged that there are those who "deny the overwhelming judgment of science" but ultimately stated his intentions to "respond to the threat of climate change" during this term. This is also the first inaugural address where the words "climate change" were actually used. In his first address in 2009, Obama stated it as the need to "roll back the specter of a warming planet."

Here's the paragraph from Obama's prepared remarks, which he delivered just after noon on Monday:

We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. (Applause.)  Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires and crippling drought and more powerful storms.

The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition, we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries, we must claim its promise. That’s how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure -- our forests and waterways, our crop lands and snow-capped peaks. That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God. That’s what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared.

Naturally those on the Twittersphere have taken to the mention of climate change in the speech with a variety of opinions:

Let us know what you think of Obama's full paragraph devoted to global warming in the comments section below.