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In a speech that Al Gore described as “the best on climate by any president ever,” President Obama forcefully called for action to address man-made global warming. Refusing to wait for skeptics or be sidelined by industry special interests, the president outlined a series of executive actions aimed at curbing climate change. And it is about time. MSNBC’s Chris Hayes talks to Senator Sheldon Whitehouse about what has stunted the climate debate and why Republicans can’t accept that the EPA actually exists.

—Jake Scobey-Thal