Post Carbon Fellow Bill McKibben reminded President Obama that physics doesn’t negotiate in this article published on Grist.

From the article:

Now, presidents can’t do everything physics demands on climate change. For one thing, Republicans get in the way. And for another we obviously can’t shut down all use of fossil fuels overnight, though in terms of climate change that would be smart. All we can do is move as quickly as possible towards a renewable future. Which is precisely why we shouldn’t even consider opening up a vast new pool of oil, one that we won’t even be able to tap for 10 or 20 years. When you’re in a hole the first rule is stop digging  —  and yet we’ve just given Shell a giant shovel.

It’s like announcing you’re going on the wagon and celebrating with a trip to a brewpub.