In Coast Guard commencement address, Obama buoys climate change

Allie Malloy and Kristen Holmes, CNN
Updated 1:43 PM EDT, Wed May 20, 2015
Meeting on the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, at the Gulfport Coast Guard Station in Mississippi on June 14, 2010.
White House Photo by Pete Souza
Meeting on the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, at the Gulfport Coast Guard Station in Mississippi on June 14, 2010.
(CNN) —  

President Barack Obama used his commencement speech to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut on Wednesday, to focus on a topic he called an immediate national security threat: climate change.

“Climate change will impact every country on the planet. No nation is immune,” the President told the 218 graduating cadets. “Climate change constitutes a serious threat to global security, an immediate risk to our national security, and, make no mistake, it will impact how our military defends our country. And so we need to act — and we need to act now.”

President Obama stressed the effects of climate change and its role in natural disasters and humanitarian crises, citing potential increases in refugee flows, a lack of food and water and threatening the readiness of U.S. military forces.

“Many of our military installations are on the coast, including, of course, our Coast Guard stations. Around Norfolk, high tides and storms increasingly flood parts of our Navy base and an air base. In Alaska, thawing permafrost is damaging military facilities. Out West, deeper droughts and longer wildfires could threaten training areas our troops depend on.”

Earlier this month, the Obama administration, citing “rigorous safety standards” and a long review process, granted conditional approval to energy giant Shell to begin oil drilling in the Arctic waters off the coast of Alaska.

The move has upset environmental activists who are concerned the drilling will have detrimental effects.

RELATED: Obama turns up heat on climate change debate in Florida

The Interior Department wrote in a statement that Shell could begin drilling in the Chukchi Sea once several environmental conditions are met, including a sign-off from agencies assessing the impact on endangered species. State agencies must also approve the plan.

The Department of Defense is looking into climate change’s effects on the military’s more than 7,000 bases and the need for the National Guard as extreme weather events continue.

“You are part of the first generation of officers to begin your service in a world where the effects of climate change are so clearly upon us. Climate change will shape how every one of our services plan, operate, train, equip, and protect their infrastructure, today and for the long-term,” Obama said.

As the administration has struggled this week to a cohesive plan to combat ISIS following the fall of Ramadi, many were not pleased with his choice to focus on climate change during Wednesday’s speech, instead of other pressing issues such as terrorism. Before the President took the stage late morning, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyoming) tweeted, “In his speech today, President Obama must address the national security threat of ISIS- not climate change.”

Following his commencement speech, the President posed with the new USCG ensigns while presenting their commissions. He was then given a commemorative mug as a thank you gift for speaking by the class of 2015.

This is not the first time Obama has focused on the negative impacts of climate change. Recently the President dedicated his weekly radio address to the topic before travelling to Florida on Earth Day to address the issue from the Everglades National Park.

The Obama administration has ramped up actions meant to curb the effects of climate change, including the announcement of a plan earlier this year to cut green house gas emissions in the United States by up to 28 percent over the next 10 years.

The executive actions – taken after legislative moves appeared all but impossible – could form a major part of Obama’s environmental legacy.

RELATED: Two degrees

The consequences of climate change go far beyond warming temperatures, which scientists say are melting the polar ice caps and raising sea levels. Click through the gallery for a look at 10 other key effects of climate change, some of which may surprise you.
Photos: Effects of global warming around the world
PHOTO: Josef Friedhuber/Getty Images/File
Melting polar ice caps —
The consequences of climate change go far beyond warming temperatures, which scientists say are melting the polar ice caps and raising sea levels. Click through the gallery for a look at 10 other key effects of climate change, some of which may surprise you.
In the coming decades climate change will unleash megadroughts lasting 10 years or more, according to a new report by scholars at Cornell University, the University of Arizona and the U.S. Geological Survey. We're seeing hints of this already in many arid parts of the world and even in California, which has been rationing water amid record drought. In this 2012 photo, a man places his hand on parched soil in the Greater Upper Nile region of northeastern South Sudan.
Photos: Effects of global warming around the world
PHOTO: Julien Behal/PA Wire/AP/File
Drought —
In the coming decades climate change will unleash megadroughts lasting 10 years or more, according to a new report by scholars at Cornell University, the University of Arizona and the U.S. Geological Survey. We're seeing hints of this already in many arid parts of the world and even in California, which has been rationing water amid record drought. In this 2012 photo, a man places his hand on parched soil in the Greater Upper Nile region of northeastern South Sudan.
There's not a direct link between climate change and wildfires, exactly. But many scientists believe the increase in wildfires in the Western United States is partly the result of tinder-dry forests parched by warming temperatures. This photo shows a wildfire as it approaches the shore of Bass Lake, California, in mid-September.
Photos: Effects of global warming around the world
PHOTO: Darvin Atkeson/YosemiteLandscapes.com/AP
Wildfires —
There's not a direct link between climate change and wildfires, exactly. But many scientists believe the increase in wildfires in the Western United States is partly the result of tinder-dry forests parched by warming temperatures. This photo shows a wildfire as it approaches the shore of Bass Lake, California, in mid-September.
Scientists say the oceans' temperatures have risen by more than 1 degree Fahrenheit over the last century. It doesn't sound like much, but it's been enough to affect the fragile ecosystems of coral reefs, which have been bleaching and dying off in recent decades. This photo shows dead coral off the coast of St. Martin's Island in Bangladesh.
Photos: Effects of global warming around the world
PHOTO: Majority World/UIG/Getty Images/File
Coral reefs —
Scientists say the oceans' temperatures have risen by more than 1 degree Fahrenheit over the last century. It doesn't sound like much, but it's been enough to affect the fragile ecosystems of coral reefs, which have been bleaching and dying off in recent decades. This photo shows dead coral off the coast of St. Martin's Island in Bangladesh.
A U.N. panel found in March that climate change -- mostly drought -- is already affecting the global agricultural supply and will likely drive up food prices. Here, in 2010, workers on combines harvest soybeans in northern Brazil. Global food experts have warned that climate change could double grain prices by 2050.
Photos: Effects of global warming around the world
PHOTO: Andre Penner/AP/File
Food prices —
A U.N. panel found in March that climate change -- mostly drought -- is already affecting the global agricultural supply and will likely drive up food prices. Here, in 2010, workers on combines harvest soybeans in northern Brazil. Global food experts have warned that climate change could double grain prices by 2050.
Are you sneezing more often these days? Climate change may be to blame for that, too. Recent studies show that rising temperatures and carbon dioxide levels promote the growth of weedy plant species that produce allergenic pollen. The worst place in the United States for spring allergies in 2014, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America? Louisville, Kentucky.
Photos: Effects of global warming around the world
PHOTO: GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP/Getty Images/File
Pollen allergies —
Are you sneezing more often these days? Climate change may be to blame for that, too. Recent studies show that rising temperatures and carbon dioxide levels promote the growth of weedy plant species that produce allergenic pollen. The worst place in the United States for spring allergies in 2014, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America? Louisville, Kentucky.
Climate change has not been kind to the world's forests. Invasive species such as the bark beetle, which thrive in warmer temperatures, have attacked trees across the North American west, from Mexico to the Yukon. University of Colorado researchers have found that some populations of mountain pine beetles now produce two generations per year, dramatically boosting the bugs' threat to lodgepole and ponderosa pines. In this 2009 photo, dead spruces of the Yukon's Alsek River valley attest to the devastation wrought by the beetles.
Photos: Effects of global warming around the world
PHOTO: Rick Bowmer/AP/File
Deforestation —
Climate change has not been kind to the world's forests. Invasive species such as the bark beetle, which thrive in warmer temperatures, have attacked trees across the North American west, from Mexico to the Yukon. University of Colorado researchers have found that some populations of mountain pine beetles now produce two generations per year, dramatically boosting the bugs' threat to lodgepole and ponderosa pines. In this 2009 photo, dead spruces of the Yukon's Alsek River valley attest to the devastation wrought by the beetles.
The snows capping majestic Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak, once inspired Ernest Hemingway. Now they're in danger of melting away altogether. Studies suggest that if the mountain's snowcap continues to evaporate at its current rate, it could be gone in 15 years. Here, a Kilimanjaro glacier is viewed from Uhuru Peak in December 2010.
Photos: Effects of global warming around the world
PHOTO: Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Laureus/File
Mountain glaciers —
The snows capping majestic Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak, once inspired Ernest Hemingway. Now they're in danger of melting away altogether. Studies suggest that if the mountain's snowcap continues to evaporate at its current rate, it could be gone in 15 years. Here, a Kilimanjaro glacier is viewed from Uhuru Peak in December 2010.
Polar bears may be the poster child for climate change's effect on animals. But scientists say climate change is wreaking havoc on many other species -- including birds and reptiles -- that are sensitive to fluctuations in temperatures. One, this golden toad of Costa Rica and other Central American countries, has already gone extinct.
Photos: Effects of global warming around the world
PHOTO: U.S Fish and Wildlife Service
Endangered species —
Polar bears may be the poster child for climate change's effect on animals. But scientists say climate change is wreaking havoc on many other species -- including birds and reptiles -- that are sensitive to fluctuations in temperatures. One, this golden toad of Costa Rica and other Central American countries, has already gone extinct.
It's not your imagination: Some animals -- mostly birds -- are migrating earlier and earlier every year because of warming global temperatures. Scholars from the University of East Anglia found that Icelandic black-tailed godwits have advanced their migration by two weeks over the past two decades. Researchers also have found that many species are migrating to higher elevations as temperatures climb.
Photos: Effects of global warming around the world
PHOTO: Shutterstock
Animal migration —
It's not your imagination: Some animals -- mostly birds -- are migrating earlier and earlier every year because of warming global temperatures. Scholars from the University of East Anglia found that Icelandic black-tailed godwits have advanced their migration by two weeks over the past two decades. Researchers also have found that many species are migrating to higher elevations as temperatures climb.
The planet could see as many as 20 more hurricanes and tropical storms each year by the end of the century because of climate change, according to a 2013 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This image shows Superstorm Sandy bearing down on the New Jersey coast in 2012.
Photos: Effects of global warming around the world
PHOTO: Norman Kuring/Ocean Color Web/NASA
Extreme weather —
The planet could see as many as 20 more hurricanes and tropical storms each year by the end of the century because of climate change, according to a 2013 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This image shows Superstorm Sandy bearing down on the New Jersey coast in 2012.

CNN’s Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.