Alaska is made up of some of the most remarkable landscapes that America has to offer, and on my three-day trip this week I made it a point to see as much as I could. But during my visit, I saw something else that has me planning a trip back as soon as possible: From Anchorage to the Arctic and from me to my advance team, you welcomed us with the warmth, generosity and kindness that makes Alaska truly beautiful.
Flying in on Monday, we had a view of Denali from Air Force One. I hiked to the Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park. I went out on Resurrection Bay in a Coast Guard cutter and saw a humpback whale. In Dillingham, I watched Alaska Native fishermen bring in their salmon catch, and learned how to prepare it in a traditional way. I visited a middle school where Alaska Native youth performed a traditional Yup'ik dance. They even got me out on the floor. I was proud to become the first American president to travel above the Arctic Circle.
Read more: Complete Alaska Dispatch News coverage of presidential Alaska tour
I saw firsthand the pioneering, independent spirit that we're proud of as Americans – and that you live by every day as Alaskans. It was an extraordinary reminder that, for all of our differences – in Alaska and across our country – we stand united. We all strive for the same shot at the American Dream.
That's why we're working to make that dream real for more Americans.
It's why, to boost commerce in the Arctic, and to maintain America's status as an Arctic power, we've called for the accelerated replacement of the Coast Guard's heavy-duty icebreaker, and we're planning for the construction of more icebreakers. It's why, to boost tourism, I'm asking Congress to speed up maintenance and modernization of our national parks in time for their centennial next year – including in Alaska.
It's why we created ConnectEd to close the technology gap in our schools and connect 99 percent of America's students to high-speed internet by 2018. It's why we fought for the Affordable Care Act, which has helped more than 16 million Americans know the security of quality, affordable health care. It's why America is coming back with 13.1 million new private-sector jobs over 66 straight months.
So, we're making progress, but there is more work to do.
Alaska's glaciers are receding. Sea levels are rising. I met Alaskans who are in danger of losing their homes and their way of life, whose town's very existence is in jeopardy. Still, some doubt what Alaskans know to be true – that climate change is real and that it threatens prosperity and opportunity for all of us. I encourage anyone who chooses to ignore the science to take a trip to Kivalina and see for themselves what climate change looks like.
What's happening here is America's wake-up call. That's why, over the past six years, we've been working to do something about it.
Even as we remain the world's No. 1 producer of oil and gas, we're transitioning away from dirty energy sources that threaten our health and our environment, and going all-in on clean, renewable energy sources like wind and solar.
America now harnesses three times as much electricity from the wind and 20 times as much from the sun as we did in 2008. We've also invested in energy efficiency in every way imaginable – in our buildings, our cars, our trucks, our homes, our appliances – saving consumers billions of dollars along the way. More than 15,000 Alaska homeowners have cut their energy bills by 30 percent on average, collectively saving more than $50 million a year. And last month, I announced the first set of nationwide standards to end limitless carbon emissions from our power plants – the most important step we've ever taken on climate change.
We're helping to lead the world in transitioning to a clean energy economy, but we know that won't happen overnight. So, we need to take more seriously our obligation to help at-risk communities become more resilient to the impacts of climate change we can't avoid.
Nowhere is this more pressing than Alaska. That's why I announced that the Denali Commission will serve as a central coordinator in building climate resilience. This will help cut through bureaucracy and red tape, freeing communities like yours to develop and implement solutions for challenges like coastal erosion, flooding, and permafrost degradation.
We're also helping communities like the ones I visited this week to build more resilient infrastructure – because I believe we shouldn't wait for disaster to strike – we should invest in communities before disaster strikes. To that end, we announced new USDA rural water grants for infrastructure projects in remote Alaska communities.
We have to keep working at this, because, when it comes to climate change, I believe there is such a thing as being too late. And that moment is almost here. But, the Americans I met this week in Alaska bolster my belief that if we put our pioneering spirit to work together, then we can ensure that this country's best days are still ahead.
President Barack Obama was elected president of the United States as a Democrat in 2008 and re-elected in 2012.
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