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Obama visits Midway Atoll, symbol of legacy

Friday, September 02, 2016 - 01:20

President Barack Obama visits Midway Atoll, the remote coral reef that serves as a reminder of both modern global climate challenges and U.S. influence in the Asia-Pacific region. Rough cut (no reporter narration).

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ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION) U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday (September 1) visited Midway Atoll, the remote coral reef that serves as a reminder of both modern global climate challenges and the dominance the United States has held in the Pacific since its World War Two victory there. The island wildlife refuge is described by those who have been there as a kind of "Garden of Eden" where the world's oldest-known albatross returns each year to nest and the electric-blue ocean teems with fish. The journey, timed as Obama leaves for his last visit to Asia to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other world leaders, will also serve as a reminder of the American victory against Japanese forces on the island during World War Two. The World War Two Battle of Midway, one of the most-studied battles in military history, tipped the balance of the U.S fight against the Japanese navy. Obama, whose presidency comes to an end in five months, will focus on how conservation can help species adjust to changing climate and is to call for an expansion of international climate cooperation like the kind he forged with Xi in 2014. He is also seeking to make Americans as passionate about the issue as he is. Less than five percent of American voters say the environment is the most important issue facing the country, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling between July 24 and August 21, and 35 percent say climate change will not affect the way they vote in the November 8 election to pick Obama's successor.

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Obama visits Midway Atoll, symbol of legacy

Friday, September 02, 2016 - 01:20