Paris Agreement on Climate being signed on Earth Day

Happy Earth Day!  Today's celebration has global significance, as the Paris Climate Agreement, which prompted Colbert to say goodbye to oil, itself the fifth most read entry of the blogging year just completed, is being signed at the U.N. in New York.  Here is U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry giving the opening address to the Signing Ceremony of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry delivers remarks at the signing ceremony of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change at the United Nations in New York on April 22, 2016.

Next, here is Kerry signing the agreement on behalf of the U.S. with his granddaughter

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry signs the Paris Agreement on Climate Change with his granddaughter at the United Nations on April 22, 2016.

This is a great green day!

Follow over the jump for two videos from The Weather Channel and Test Tube News explaining the significance of the agreement being signed today.

First, The Weather Channel explains why this Earth Day is especially important in Earth Day 2016.


That's a good explanation of the importance of this agreement, including the thresholds necessary in order to make it work.

Finally, Test Tube News asks Can The Paris Agreement Actually Stop Global Warming?

World leaders are signing a monumental agreement that aims to stop climate change into the future. So what is in the Paris Agreement and will it actually make an impact?

The answer may be not enough, but Kerry already addressed that in his remarks at the signing ceremony.  Also, I'll be a good environmentalist and recycle what I wrote back in December.

I'm enough of a realist that I'll take better than nothing now in the hope of getting good enough later.  That's what I did when it came to the Keystone XL Pipeline and I got not only good enough, but much better than I expected.  May we all be so fortunate when it comes to climate change.

I still think and feel this way.  Happy Earth Day!