Biden addressed the League of Conservation Voters at their annual dinner on Wednesday and made several incorrect and confusing statements that have become typical of his speech.
The focus of his approximately 20-minute speech was on the progress his administration has made in passing legislation directed at climate change. He started out with several thank-yous to people who have helped him push the climate agenda, including former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who he believes will “go down in history as one of the most consequential Speakers in American history, and that’s a fact.”
Biden then moved on to the topic of wildfires, specifically addressing the recent air quality hazards on the East coast caused by fires in Canada. He spoke of his own experience with wildfires, recalling a time last year when he traveled in the West with the EPA to survey wildfire damage. He claimed he saw “more timber burned to the ground than the entire state of Maryland...every single part of that state, that’s how much burned to the ground.”
Unfortunately for Biden, his statement appears to be incorrect.
According to recently published 2022 wildfire statistics from the Federation of American Scientists, “wildfires burned approximately 5.8 million acres in the West.” The total square mileage of the state of Maryland, according to the Maryland State Archives, consists of 7,939,840 acres (or 7.9 million to shorten it).
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In his speech Biden continued to brag about his Inflation Reduction Act — which dedicates $369 billion to “combat climate change” — and condemned “MAGA Republicans” for working against this and other initiatives Biden has championed since his time in office began. In the middle of talking about his conservation efforts, he took a slight detour and began talking about initiatives specifically focused on the Pacific and Indian Oceans. He touted an effort “to designate…770,000 square miles of the Pacific Ocean as a new national marine sanctuary” and assured attendees “we’re going to get it done.”
The president also revealed “plans” in the works to “build a railroad from the Pacific all the way across the Indian Ocean” — spanning thousands of miles of international waters. It was at this point that he backed off of his detour, laughing that he was “going to get in trouble” for “going off-script.”
Biden rounded out his time with a personal touch — a story from his childhood in Delaware. He shared his experience growing up in a place with “more oil refineries…than any place including — including Houston, Texas,” and frequently having to deal with “oil slicks” on the windshield of his family’s car.
Once again, elements of his story appear to be incorrect. According to Google Maps, there are actually only two oil refineries in Marcus Hook (one of which isn’t even technically in borough limits), which is far outweighed by the 10 oil refineries located in Houston — the city Biden used for comparison. Though there are several oil refineries along the Delaware River, the concentration in that specific area doesn’t match up to what he claimed.
Additionally, several news outlets have previously reported on the fact that Biden’s claims of frequent “oil slicks on the windshield” due to pollution in the region. According to the Washington Times, there are no records from local news that any such instances ever actually occurred.
Biden ended his time by extending the call to those in attendance to continue to fight “the existential threat to humanity” of climate change and walked off the stage to cheers and applause from the audience.
For Biden's full comments, watch below:
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