Climate change won't wait

Obama appears unwilling or unable to take the tough steps to deal with global warming. In Washington over Presidents Day weekend, the largest environmental demonstration in years will try to prod him.

Societal change usually happens slowly, even once it's clear there's a problem. That's because, in a country as big as the United States, public opinion moves in leisurely currents. Change often requires going up against powerful, established interests, and it can take decades for those currents to erode the foundations of our special-interest fortresses. Think civil rights, gay marriage, equal rights for women.

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