--- title: President Obama Plans Hike on Alaska Glacier description: A photo op meant to send a message about global warming canonical: https://time.com/4015503/president-barack-obama-alaska-glacier/ author: Aditya Agrawal article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-28T22:20:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T10:32:34.488Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Obama Plans Hike on Alaska Glacier og:description: A photo op meant to send a message about global warming og:url: https://time.com/4015503/president-barack-obama-alaska-glacier/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt447a813911298ac1/69885e7035ba6f736dc0e900/obama-iran1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Obama Speaks Iran Nuclear Deal og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Obama Plans Hike on Alaska Glacier twitter:description: A photo op meant to send a message about global warming twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt447a813911298ac1/69885e7035ba6f736dc0e900/obama-iran1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Obama Plans Hike on Alaskan Glacier > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=8edefe56-2c2f-4573-9410-dd4bfbb728d3&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) by [Aditya Agrawal](https://time.com/author/aditya-agrawal/) ## Aditya Agrawal Aug 28, 2015 10:20 PM UTC  United States President Barack Obama addresses American University's School of International Service in Washington on Aug. 5, 2015. United States President Barack Obama addresses American University's School of International Service in Washington on Aug. 5, 2015. Pete Marovich—AP by [Aditya Agrawal](https://time.com/author/aditya-agrawal/) ## Aditya Agrawal Aug 28, 2015 10:20 PM UTC Advocacy and adventure will collide when Barack Obama visits Alaska on an official trip beginning Monday. The American President’s itinerary may include a hike across the Exit Glacier in the Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska, White House officials said Friday. The visit to the glacier, which has experienced [significant](http://www.adn.com/article/20141027/harding-icefield-loses-mass-exit-glacier-shows-big-one-year-retreat) melting in recent years, fits in with the broader purpose of Obama’s visit: to highlight the ways in which climate change is affecting individuals, communities and the American economy. The National Park is a vital pillar of the Alaskan economy by way of tourism, and climate change threatens to derail the stream of visitors the Park sees every year. The trip is the latest in a long line of recent Obama initiatives to battle climate change, including his [endorsement](http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/08/24/obama-visits-nevada-the-center-of-the-solar-boom-to-talk-clean-energy-and-climate-change/) of solar energy and a new [Clean Power Plan](http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/will-the-u-s-seize-the-high-ground-in-curbing-emissions/) that aims at a 32% cut in carbon emissions by 2030. As part of the three-day trip, Obama will deliver a keynote address at an international [conference](http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2015/07/245241.htm) about climate change in the Arctics and interact with local fishermen in Dillingham, a major hub of the salmon industry. The President will also survey impacts of global warming on Alaskan ice sheets from onboard a coastguard ship. The trip, which comes a week after Obama approved an Arctic drilling project, has been [called](http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/08/27/before-obamas-alaska-trip-climate-group-charges-hypocrisy/) hypocritical by climate change groups. 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