Remarks by the President, the Vice President, the First Lady and Dr. Biden at Inaugural Reception

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

The Building Museum
Washington, D.C.

8:48 P.M. EST

DR. BIDEN:  Good evening, everyone.  Thank you so much for joining us tonight.  But more than that, thank you for the kindness, friendship and support that you’ve shown us since we’ve begun this long journey together.  We wouldn’t be here without your help, and that means so much to me and Joe.

Joe and I are thrilled, and I know you feel the same way, to have Barack Obama as our President for another four years -- (applause) -- and Michelle as First Lady.  (Applause.)  And I may be a little biased, but I couldn’t think of a better man than my husband to help our President lead our country for the next four years.  (Applause.)  As long as he has the privilege of serving this nation, I know that Joe will keep fighting for American people every day. 

Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming my husband, our Vice President, Joe Biden.  (Applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I’m going to move this away, baby. 

Hello, I'm Jill Biden’s husband, and I’m delighted to be with you all here.  (Laughter.)  Let me begin with the simplest of statements:  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  You’re the only reason that we are here.  Thank you for your support.  Thank you for being here.  And most of all, thank you for believing in us. 

Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve been honored to serve as Vice President.  But I’ve been especially honored to serve as Barack Obama’s Vice President.  (Applause.)  This man has already done an absolutely remarkable job:  Historic health care reform, two Supreme Court appointees -- Justice Sonya Sotomayor and Elaine Kagan -- ending the war in Iraq and about to end the war in Afghanistan -- (applause) -- and stating forthrightly his support for marriage equality.  (Applause.)  And I want you to know something else about this guy Barack Obama -- he’s just getting started.  He’s just getting started.  (Applause.)

In the weeks and months ahead, we’re going to reduce gun violence here in America.  (Applause.)  We’re going to pass comprehensive immigration reform.  (Applause.)  And we’re going to put this nation’s economy on a sustainable path to the future.

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s my great honor to introduce you to a magnificent, a truly magnificent First Lady Michelle Obama, and the guy she hangs out with -- my friend, President Barack Obama.  (Applause.)

 Hey.  (Laughter and applause.)  I thought you weren’t coming out.  (Laughter.)  I thought you weren’t coming.  (Laughter.)

MRS. OBAMA:  Hi, everybody.  (Applause.)  Excuse our tardiness.  But you know what, when Stevie Wonder has a few words to say to you -- (laughter) -- you don’t rush Stevie Wonder.  (Laughter.)  So pardon our delay, but thank you.  Thanks so much, Jill.  Thank you for that kind introduction.  But more importantly, thank you for your leadership and service.  (Applause.)

I love Joe Biden.  (Applause.)  I love Jill a little bit more.  (Laughter.)  But I want to thank you both for making this journey so much more fun.  Our families have bonded and this has just been a phenomenal four years.  And I’m ready to do four more with both of you.  (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Four more.

MRS. OBAMA:  Four more.

And most of all, I want to thank all of you here tonight for everything -- everything -- that you’ve done to bring this Inauguration to life.  This weekend has been such a wonderful celebration for our people and for the future.  And we know that none of it could have happened without all of you.  And that’s why it was so important for all of us to be here and to spend some time with you.
So this weekend, as we look ahead to the next four years, we should absolutely take some time to truly enjoy this next few days.  I mean, the last one was kind of fast.  (Laughter.)  So we’ve all agreed that we’re going to take some time to just breathe in and enjoy it.

But let's also remember that this Inauguration is about more than all of the events that we will all enjoy this weekend.  It's about more than swearing in a President.  It's about more than we accomplish together over the next four years.  It's also about the opportunities we have to make a real difference in people's lives.  (Applause.)  I mean, the truth is it's about our opportunity to continue to lift up our families, to help more of our children achieve their dreams, and to put our country on a solid foundation not just for these next few years, but for generations to come.

So tonight, let us re-dedicate ourselves to that work.  Let us keep building on the progress that we've made.  And let's keep working and fighting and pushing forward --

THE PRESIDENT:  Forward.

MRS. OBAMA:  Forward. (Applause.) 

THE PRESIDENT:  Forward.

MRS. OBAMA:  -- forward to make the real changes that's happened. 

And that's what this man, my husband, has been doing for these last four years.  (Applause.)  And let me tell you, it has just been a true thrill to watch this handsome, charming -- (laughter) -- individual grow into the man and the President that he is.  We have seen him every single day -- his integrity, his character, his sense of humor -- (laughter) -- his compassion, his courage.  And no matter what the obstacles, we have seen him be so steady facing the challenges that lie ahead and, as always, held true to one unwavering belief -- and that is that we love this country, and we can all work together to change it. 

So, ladies and gentlemen, it is my distinct honor and pleasure to welcome the love of my life and our President for the next four years, Barack Obama.  (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Good evening.  Now, first of all, I love Michelle Obama.  (Applause.)  And to address the most significant event of this weekend, I love her bangs.  (Laughter and applause.)  She looks good.  She always looks good.

You know, as President, you make a lot of important decisions.  Probably the most important decision is who is going to be your partner during the course of your presidency.  And there have been some decisions I got right, some maybe folks might question.  But one decision I know was absolutely correct, absolutely spot on, was my choice of Vice President.  I could not have a better partner than Joe Biden.  And Joe Biden couldn’t have a better partner than Dr. Jill Biden.  (Applause.)  We love these folks.  Give them a round of applause.  (Applause.) 

Now, some of you may have heard the story of Andrew Jackson's inaugural reception.  Party-goers got so rowdy they broke several thousands of dollars' worth of White House china.  (Laughter.)  So my first big thank-you tonight is to the National Building Museum for hosting us here.  (Laughter.) 

I also want to thank The Source for their outstanding entertainment, the U.S. Navy Sea Chanters -- (applause) -- and a guy who has been known to make pretty good music, Mr. Stevie Wonder.  (Applause.) 

I'm delivering another speech tomorrow so tonight I'm going to be pretty brief, because there are a limited amount of good lines and you don’t want to use them all up tonight.  (Laughter.) My main purpose tonight is just to say thank you. 

As I look out on the room, we've got people from every walk of life, every corner and nook and cranny of this country, every state, every city, every suburb -- people who have invested so much heart, soul, time, money, energy.  One of the things that made this campaign unique was the degree of investment and ownership people had in this common project of ours, because you understood this was not just about a candidate; it was not just about Joe Biden or Barack Obama.  This was about us, who we are as a nation, what values we cherish, how hard we're willing to fight to make sure that those values live not just for today but for future generations.

All of you here understood and were committed to the basic notion that when we put our shoulders to the wheel of history, it moves.  (Applause.)  It moves.  It moves forward.  And that’s part of what we celebrate when we come together for Inauguration.

Yesterday, Americans in all 50 states took part in a National Day of Service.  Tomorrow, hundreds of thousands will join us in the National Mall.  And what the Inauguration reminds us of is the role we have as fellow citizens in promoting a common good even as we carry out our individual responsibilities -- the sense that there's something larger than ourselves that gives shape and meaning to our lives. 

The theme of this year's Inauguration is “Our people and our future.”  And throughout my career, what’s always given me energy and inspiration and hope, what’s allowed me to stand up when I’ve been knocked down, are folks like you -- the decency, the goodness, the resilience, the neighborliness, the patriotism, the sense of duty, the sense of responsibility of the American people.  You have inspired me throughout. 

And so whenever I think about the challenges that Joe and I and Jill and Michelle face, we know that we stand amongst friends and colleagues and fellow citizens, and that the work is not just ours, that we are working together. 

So I just want to say thank you.  Thank you very much.  Thank you.  (Applause.)  And I want all of you to know that even as we celebrate over the next couple of days -- and feel free to stay up as late as you want.  Tomorrow is not a school night.  Make sure to bundle up -- although it won’t be as cold as it was four years ago.  (Laughter.)  Make sure you know that what we’re celebrating is not the election or swearing-in of a President;  What we’re doing is celebrating each other, and celebrating this incredible nation that we call home.  (Applause.) 

And after we celebrate, let’s make sure to work as hard as we can to pass on an America that is worthy not only of our past but also of our future.  (Applause.) 

God bless you guys.  I love you.  We’ll see you tomorrow.  (Applause.)

END
9:02 P.M. EST

Visit WhiteHouse.gov for complete coverage of the Presidential Inauguration.

Doris Kearns Goodwin, Robert Caro, Michael Beschloss, and Douglass Brinkley have written more than a dozen books about American presidents, and they have some thoughts about the 2013 Inauguration.

In two separate, private ceremonies, President Obama and Vice President Biden are officially sworn into office, marking the start of the second term.

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Report: DC officials lower turnout estimate for Inauguration Day

Officials in the District of Columbia are lowering their turnout projections for President Obama’s second inauguration.

Chris Geldart, the director of the District's Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, said Sunday that they now expect between 500,000 and 700,000 people to attend the Monday events, according to a report in The Associated Press. 

That figure is below the original 600,000-to-800,000 estimate, which itself was well below the 1.8 million estimated to have watched Obama being sworn in on Jan. 20, 2009.

The report said that city officials are basing their revised number on the number of charter buses that have arrived in Washington as well as an accounting of hotel and restaurant reservations.

But Geldart said that officials are not making any alterations to their security or transportation plans.

President Obama’s second term officially began shortly before noon on Sunday, when he was sworn in by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts in a short ceremony at the White House.

But because the inauguration date set by the Constitution falls on a Sunday, organizers are holding the ceremonial public swearing-in and inaugural parade on Monday. 

Vice President Biden was also sworn in earlier Sunday, by Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

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Martin Luther King’s Progressive Legacy

Today is the official ceremony for President Obama’s second inauguration and the national celebration of Martin Luther King Day. The holiday, which was not officially observed in all 50 states until 2000, honors the civil rights leader and nonviolent activist who led the struggle for African American equality, and against militarism, materialism, and poverty. And while conservatives (and even gun advocates) have seized on King’s legacy to promote their own political agendas, King explicitly espoused, pursued, and defended progressive values:

King Died Supporting A Public Sector Union’s Strike: In King’s final sermon, he called upon the people of Memphis to join together in support of the Memphis sanitation worker’s AFSCME-led strike. “Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness,” King preached. “when we have our march, you need to be there. If it means leaving work, if it means leaving school — be there.”King Compared Poverty To “Cannibalism” And Called For Its “Direct And Immediate Abolition”: King believed that poverty “is socially as cruel and blind as the practice of cannibalism at the dawn of civilization.” He called for America to abolish poverty by guaranteeing “white and Negro alike” a minimum income.King Called War Funding A “Demonic Sucking Tube” Undermining Poverty Programs: King opposed the Vietnam war in no small part because it diverted precious resources away from anti-poverty programs. “A few years ago there was a shining moment in that struggle. It seemed as if there was a real promise of hope for the poor — both black and white — through the poverty program. . . . Then came the buildup in Vietnam and I watched the program broken and eviscerated as if it were some idle political plaything of a society gone mad on war, and I knew that America would never invest the necessary funds or energies in rehabilitation of its poor so long as adventures like Vietnam continued to draw men and skills and money like some demonic destructive suction tube.”King Said Poverty Made Him “Question The Capitalistic Economy”: King called for a radical restructuring of America’s economic system. “And one day we must ask the question, ‘Why are there forty million poor people in America?’ And when you begin to ask that question, you are raising questions about the economic system, about a broader distribution of wealth. When you ask that question, you begin to question the capitalistic economy. . . . You see, my friends, when you deal with this, you begin to ask the question, ‘Who owns the oil?’ You begin to ask the question, ‘Who owns the iron ore?’ You begin to ask the question, ‘Why is it that people have to pay water bills in a world that is two thirds water?’”

Obama will use two Bibles when he takes the oath of office, one owned by Abraham Lincoln, and another by King. “It’s almost like fate and history coming together,” said Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), who worked alongside King in the fight for civil rights struggle. “If it hadn’t been for Martin Luther King Jr., there would be no Barack Obama as president.”

The only other time a presidential inauguration coincided with the King holiday was in 1997. In his speech, President Bill Clinton invoked the civil rights icon, saying, “Thirty-four years ago, the man whose life we celebrate today spoke to us down there at the other end of this Mall in words that moved the conscience of a nation.” “Martin Luther King’s dream was the American Dream. His quest is our quest: the ceaseless striving to live out our true creed. Our history has been built on such dreams and labors.”

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Koch-Funded Study Finds 2.5°F Warming Of Land Since 1750 Is Manmade, ‘Solar Forcing Does Not Appear To Contribute’

The Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature Study (BEST) has finally published its findings on the cause of recent global warming. This Koch-funded reanalysis of millions of temperature observations from around the world, “A New Estimate of the Average Earth Surface Land Temperature Spanning 1753 to 2011,” concludes:

… solar forcing does not appear to contribute to the observed global warming of the past 250 years; the entire change can be modeled by a sum of volcanism and a single anthropogenic [human-made] proxy.

The decadal land surface temperature from BEST average (black line), “compared to a linear combination of volcanic sulfate emissions (responsible for the short dips) and the natural logarithm of CO2 (responsible for the gradual rise) shown in red. Inclusion of a proxy for solar activity did not significantly improve the fit. The grey area is the 95% confidence interval.”

You may recall that back in July, Richard Muller, BEST’s Founder and Scientific Director, published a NY Times op-ed, “The Conversion of a Climate-Change Skeptic,” which concluded

Three years ago I identified problems in previous climate studies that, in my mind, threw doubt on the very existence of global warming. Last year, following an intensive research effort involving a dozen scientists, I concluded that global warming was real and that the prior estimates of the rate of warming were correct. I’m now going a step further: Humans are almost entirely the cause.

The finding itself is “dog bites man” (see It’s “Extremely Likely That at Least 74% of Observed Warming Since 1950? Was Manmade; It’s Highly Likely All of It Was).

What makes this “man bites dog” is that Muller has been a skeptic of climate science, and the single biggest funder of this study is the “Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation ($150,000).” The Kochs are the leading funder of climate disinformation in the world!

Muller further explained:

Our results show that the average temperature of the earth’s land has risen by two and a half degrees Fahrenheit over the past 250 years, including an increase of one and a half degrees over the most recent 50 years. Moreover, it appears likely that essentially all of this increase results from the human emission of greenhouse gases.

These findings are stronger than those of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the United Nations group that defines the scientific and diplomatic consensus on global warming.

In short, a Koch-funded study has found that the IPCC “consensus” underestimated both the rate of surface warming and how much could be attributed to human emissions!

The Koch-finded study also finds, “the rate of warming we observe is broadly consistent with the IPCC estimates of 2-4.5°C warming (for land plus oceans) at doubled CO2.” A summary of BEST’s findings are on their website.

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Avoiding a second-rate second term

By Andy Langenkamp, political analyst, ECR Research, and Interestt and Currency Consultants - 01/21/13 10:15 AM ET

President Obama’s second term has started. History does not hold out much hope of a bold and triumphant second term and most forecasts aren’t very positive, but Obama could defy expectations and historical precedents.

The re-election of an incumbent president is not a given. Including Obama, just 17 out of 44 U.S. presidents have been returned to office and no more than 13 were head of state for all of eight years.

Many experts believe a second term is bound to be second-rate but is "second termitis" a real risk or merely an exaggeration? Even the legendary first president, George Washington, encountered numerous obstacles during his second term of office (although he won reelection with 100 percent of the votes). The supporters of the later president Jefferson were often in Washington's way. In addition, he had to pull out all the stops to prevent war with Great Britain, sent troops into Pennsylvania to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion (a tax protest), angry mobs marched on Congress, and his Secretary of State was forced to resign due to a scandal.

This set an ominous precedent for subsequent leaders. No re-elected incumbent did better in his second term than in the first. Seven of them did considerably worse. Their second tenure was dominated by illness, attempts on their lives, corruption, and controversy.

The stats confirm that second terms are often far from successful. Presidential approval ratings tend to nosedive during second terms. Presidents who were re-elected after World War II got more done term in terms of legislation during their initial term. In his first four years as president, by and large Reagan did what he had pledged to do, yet he only made good on 25 percent of his promises during his next term. For Clinton, these percentages were 87 percent and respectively 38 percent.

Obama knows it is not going to be easy. Especially as the last five presidents who were re-elected won more votes the second time round. In four cases, it was a landslide victory. (For instance, Reagan won 49 out of 50 states in 1984). Conversely, Obama was re-elected with a smaller majority.

Obama’s first priority is to address deficit reduction and the fiscal problems. Both Reagan and Clinton were successful in these areas during their second term. So who knows, at least a deal might be in the offing. There may be some fiscal pot-holes in the road in 2013 but for both parties there is too much at stake to allow the economy to smash against the rocks

Apart from the fiscal cliff Obama has his work cut out for him when it comes to gun control, immigration, energy, climate change, and infrastructure. To highlight the importance of the latter: a decade ago the World Economic Forum put the U.S. at no. 5 on the list of countries with the best infrastructure. Since then, America has slipped down to 25th place. In the next five years it will need to spend at least $2,000bn on infrastructure – and that's just for overdue maintenance.

Fortunately, it is not all bad news for Obama. Second-term presidents sometimes do quite well. Eisenhower had a very decent second term and in 1997, Clinton struck a fiscal deal with a Republican-dominated Congress; for the first time in decades the country ended up with a budget surplus.

The Republicans may rule the House of Representatives but they are greatly concerned about their dependence on older white male voters. Demographic trends are forcing the GOP to fundamentally reconsider its standpoints.

In turn, Obama will probably be worried because his predecessors had a far larger majority on re-election. However, precisely this circumstance could help, not hinder, Obama. To quote Lou Cannon, White House journalist and biographer of Reagan (among others), “Landslides are dangerous to the victor.” As mentioned earlier, Reagan only lost one state during the 1984 elections but what followed were the two least successful years of his 16 years in office (including his tenure as Governor of California).

Many re-elected presidents overestimate themselves and want to do too much. Obama’s less impressive victory, in combination with his cool, solid, and cautious personality may mean he is less in danger of overreach.

So both Democrats as well as Republicans need compromises; not least because voters are sick to death of the deep bipartisan divide. This is why some good news may come out of Washington before the year is out. Obama is under a lot of pressure to move his policies forward during 2013. Congress elections are scheduled for 2014; the outcome could stymie his chances of getting things done in the final years of his presidency. In essence, he has two years to focus on the big domestic issues. Subsequently, the president can focus on foreign policy – like virtually all other second-term presidents – and on the consolidation and implementation of domestic reforms that have already been put in place, such as Obamacare.  

Langenkamp is a a political analyst for ECR Research and Interest & Currency Consultants which monitors international political developments that affect the financial markets.

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Rep. Steve King says not to expect more Hastert-rule defying votes in House

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) predicted Monday that with Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) working to unify the Republican caucus after the divisive “fiscal cliff” fight, House leaders would avoid offering votes on legislation driven by Democratic support.

"John Boehner's tone and his body language … was all about how we pull our conference together and work together," King told CNN. "I don't think you'll see another bill that comes to the floor that's got that large a number of Democrat votes."

"It's going to be a Republican agenda that he drives, and I think he's about unifying our conference," he added.

The "fiscal cliff" compromise passed 257-167, although Republicans voted 151-85 against passage. Coupled with Boehner's defeat on his so-called "Plan B" and a narrow reelection to the Speakership, many have been openly wondering if Boehner has control of the Republican Conference. 

The "fiscal cliff" vote violated the so-called “Hastert Rule,” by which Speakers customarily prevent a vote on legislation unless a majority of their majority supports it.

King also said that despite looming battles over immigration and gun control, Inauguration Day wasn't the time for politics.

"This should be a healing day, and then tomorrow we can start the harder work," King said.

The Iowa lawmaker also said Republicans had an obligation to their constituents to oppose the president's efforts, despite calls for bipartisanship.

"Those of us who won an election think of our constituents deserving of the best representation," King said.

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NASA-Led Study Finds Warming-Driven Megadroughts Jeopardizing Amazon Forest

An area of the Amazon rainforest twice the size of California continues to suffer from the effects of a megadrought that began in 2005, finds a new NASA-led study. These results, together with observed recurrences of droughts every few years and associated damage to the forests in southern and western Amazonia in the past decade, suggest these rainforests may be showing the first signs of potential large-scale degradation due to climate change.

At left, the extent of the 2005 megadrought in the western Amazon rainforests during the summer months of June, July and August as measured by NASA satellites. The most impacted areas are shown in shades of red and yellow. The circled area in the right panel shows the extent of the forests that experienced slow recovery from the 2005 drought, with areas in red and yellow shades experiencing the slowest recovery. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/GSFC

A NASA JPL news release

An international research team led by Sassan Saatchi of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., analyzed more than a decade of satellite microwave radar data collected between 2000 and 2009 over Amazonia. The observations included measurements of rainfall from NASA’s Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission and measurements of the moisture content and structure of the forest canopy (top layer) from the Seawinds scatterometer on NASA’s QuikScat spacecraft.

The scientists found that during the summer of 2005, more than 270,000 square miles (700,000 square kilometers, or 70 million hectares) of pristine, old-growth forest in southwestern Amazonia experienced an extensive, severe drought. This megadrought caused widespread changes to the forest canopy that were detectable by satellite. The changes suggest dieback of branches and tree falls, especially among the older, larger, more vulnerable canopy trees that blanket the forest.

While rainfall levels gradually recovered in subsequent years, the damage to the forest canopy persisted all the way to the next major drought, which began in 2010. About half the forest affected by the 2005 drought – an area the size of California – did not recover by the time QuikScat stopped gathering global data in November 2009 and before the start of a more extensive drought in 2010.

“The biggest surprise for us was that the effects appeared to persist for years after the 2005 drought,” said study co-author Yadvinder Malhi of the University of Oxford, United Kingdom. “We had expected the forest canopy to bounce back after a year with a new flush of leaf growth, but the damage appeared to persist right up to the subsequent drought in 2010.”

Recent Amazonian droughts have drawn attention to the vulnerability of tropical forests to climate change. Satellite and ground data have shown an increase in wildfires during drought years and tree die-offs following severe droughts. Until now, there had been no satellite-based assessment of the multi-year impacts of these droughts across all of Amazonia. Large-scale droughts can lead to sustained releases of carbon dioxide from decaying wood, affecting ecosystems and Earth’s carbon cycle.

The researchers attribute the 2005 Amazonian drought to the long-term warming of tropical Atlantic sea surface temperatures. “In effect, the same climate phenomenon that helped form hurricanes Katrina and Rita along U.S. southern coasts in 2005 also likely caused the severe drought in southwest Amazonia,” Saatchi said. “An extreme climate event caused the drought, which subsequently damaged the Amazonian trees.”

Saatchi said such megadroughts can have long-lasting effects on rainforest ecosystems. “Our results suggest that if droughts continue at five- to 10-year intervals or increase in frequency due to climate change, large areas of the Amazon forest are likely to be exposed to persistent effects of droughts and corresponding slow forest recovery,” he said. “This may alter the structure and function of Amazonian rainforest ecosystems.”

The team found that the area affected by the 2005 drought was much larger than scientists had previously predicted. About 30 percent (656,370 square miles, or 1.7 million square kilometers) of the Amazon basin’s total current forest area was affected, with more than five percent of the forest experiencing severe drought conditions. The 2010 drought affected nearly half of the entire Amazon forest, with nearly a fifth of it experiencing severe drought. More than 231,660 square miles (600,000 square kilometers) of the area affected by the 2005 drought were also affected by the 2010 drought. This “double whammy” by successive droughts suggests a potentially long-lasting and widespread effect on forests in southern and western Amazonia.

The drought rate in Amazonia during the past decade is unprecedented over the past century. In addition to the two major droughts in 2005 and 2010, the area has experienced several localized mini-droughts in recent years. Observations from ground stations show that rainfall over the southern Amazon rainforest declined by almost 3.2 percent per year in the period from 1970 to 1998. Climate analyses for the period from 1995 to 2005 show a steady decline in water availability for plants in the region. Together, these data suggest a decade of moderate water stress led up to the 2005 drought, helping trigger the large-scale forest damage seen following the 2005 drought.

Saatchi said the new study sheds new light on a major controversy that existed about how the Amazon forest responded following the 2005 megadrought. Previous studies using conventional optical satellite data produced contradictory results, likely due to the difficulty of correcting the optical data for interference by clouds and other atmospheric conditions.

In contrast, QuikScat’s scatterometer radar was able to see through the clouds and penetrate into the top few meters of vegetation, providing daily measurements of the forest canopy structure and estimates of how much water the forest contains. Areas of drought-damaged forest produced a lower radar signal than the signals collected over healthy forest areas, indicating either that the forest canopy is drier or it is less “rough” due to damage to or the death of canopy trees.

Results of the study were published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Other participating institutions included UCLA; University of Oxford, United Kingdom; University of Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom; National Institute for Space Research, Sao Jose dos Campos, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Boston University, Mass.; and NASA’s Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.

– A NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory news release

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Jarrett: Expect more diversity in future Obama Cabinet picks

Senior Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett on Sunday predicted more minorities and women would be tapped for positions in the president’s Cabinet.

“His Cabinet, when he's finished — and he's far from finished — will have diversity, including women, including people of color,” said Jarrett in an interview with CNN.

“He believes he makes his best decisions when he is surrounded by people who have different perspectives and give him their best ideas,” she continued. “And so, one picture does not speak a thousand words, in this instance. I spent a lot of time in the Oval Office, and I'm in there with a great number of women whom he listens to, and whose counsel and advice he trusts greatly.”

The White House has faced scrutiny over an alleged lack of diversity among President Obama’s top advisers, prompted by a New York Times report earlier this month questioning the “all-male look” of Obama’s inner circle. A photo accompanying the report showed Obama consulting a number of white men. 

Those questions have intensified with Obama’s senior-most Cabinet nominations, including former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) for Defense secretary, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) for secretary of State and Chief of Staff Jack Lew for Treasury secretary.

Those nominations have come amid a number of high-profile second-term exits of female Cabinet members, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.

In a press conference last week, Obama rejected charges that he had neglected diversity, saying that he was “proud that in the first four years, we had as diverse, if not a more diverse, White House and a Cabinet than any in history.”

Obama said his critics should “wait until they've seen all my appointments, who is in the White House staff and who is in my Cabinet, before they rush to judgment."

On Sunday, Jarrett said that the president had a strong track record of appointing women to key positions in his administration.

“The president has been surrounded by strong women throughout his entire life. Raised by a single mom, lived for a while with his grandmother, who was a great role model for him. Obviously, married to a very competent wife, and his first Cabinet reflected the diversity of our country,” said Jarrett. “He put women in charge of key initiatives, such as Nancy Ann DeParle, his deputy chief of staff, who helped craft the Affordable Care Act, and now Kathleen Sebelius is implementing it.”

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Obama: Inauguration a chance to celebrate ‘this incredible nation’

In a short speech at the National Building Museum on Sunday night, President Obama thanked his supporters and said his second inauguration was a chance to celebrate “this incredible nation.”

“What we are celebrating is not just the election or swearing-in of a president; what we are doing is celebrating each other and celebrating this incredible nation we call home,” said Obama at a reception for campaign donors and backers of the Presidential Inaugural Committee. 

“And after we celebrate, let's be sure to work as hard as we can to pass on an America that is worthy of our past and our future,” he added, looking ahead to his second term.

Obama was preceded by first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Biden and Dr. Jill Biden, all of whom also delivered remarks.

“I’m delivering another speech tomorrow, so tonight I’m going to be pretty brief, because there are a limited amount of good lines and you don’t want to use them all,” Obama joked. “My main purpose tonight is just to say thank you.”

The president said looking around the room he could see people from “every walk of life” who had “invested so much of their heart, soul, time, money and energy.”

“One of the things that made this campaign unique was the degree of investment and ownership people had in this common project of ours, because you understood this was not just about a candidate,” Obama added. “It was not just about Joe Biden or Barack Obama. It was about us and who we are as a nation, what values we cherish, how hard we are willing to fight to make those values live for future generations.”

Vice President Biden, who spoke before Obama, said he had been “honored” to serve with the president, and thanked their supporters for “believing in us.”

“This man’s already done an already remarkable job,” said Biden, citing Obama’s healthcare law, the end of the war in Iraq, the drawdown in Afghanistan and his support for same-sex marriage.

“He’s just getting started,” Biden added to cheers. “In the months ahead we are going to reduce gun violence here in America, we’re going to pass comprehensive immigration reform and we’re going to put this nation’s economy on a sustainable path to the future.”

Obama and Biden were officially sworn in on Sunday morning, but on Monday will take their ceremonial public oaths of office.

The president appeared relaxed and encouraged his supporters to enjoy the Inaugural festivities.

“Feel free to stay up as long as you want; tomorrow’s not a school night,” Obama joked.

The president also praised the first lady, who introduced him to the audience.

“First of all, I love Michelle Obama, and to address the most significant event of this weekend, I love her bangs,” said the president about the first lady’s new hairstyle. “She always looks good.”

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Inaugural weekend starts with service event for Obama, Biden

President Obama and his family participated in a community service project in Washington, D.C. on Saturday as part of a National Day of Service ahead of the inauguration.

The first family joined roughly 500 volunteers in completing a school makeover at Burrville Elementary School in Washington, according to a pool report. The event was coordinated by the service organization City Year.

"As I look around the room, I see friends from all across the country, people who have been such great supporters of ours, but more importantly, everybody here—adults to children—understand the importance of giving back," Obama said in remarks given to volunteers in the school's gym, per the pool report.

He later added that the inauguration "is a symbol of how our democracy works" and it "should also be an affirmation that we're all in this together."

While at the school, the president and the first lady helped volunteers stain a wooden, multi-tiered shelf. Obama commented that the first lady said he "did a fine job" staining the shelf.

"This is a weekend of celebration, but through it all we have to remember that the reason why we're here...is because a lot of people worked hard and supported us," Mrs. Obama told volunteers, according to the pool report. "And we've got a job to do."

The first lady also encouraged young people to continue volunteering and giving back to their communities.

"The goal is as you make your way through life, who are you pulling up with you? And as long as you're pulling somebody up with you, you're doing the right thing," she said.

Vice President Joe Biden, along with Dr. Jill Biden and other family members, took part in a community service project organized by volunteer group Points of Light at the D.C. Armory as the event-filled inauguration weekend got underway. The vice president and his family helped volunteers pack 100,000 care kits filled with necessities, such as toothbrushes and Band-Aids, for deployed service members, veterans, injured service members and first responders, according to a pool report.

While giving brief remarks at the service event, the vice president said while only 1 percent of the nation was serving their country, the 99 percent back home owe them their gratitude.

Biden added that Martin Luther King Jr. inspired "this notion of absolute service."

"We have to move back to reaching out to people," he said, according to the pool report.

Biden also voiced optimism for the country during President Obama's second term in office. 

"I think we're on the cusp of doing some really great things," he said.

For the past few years, the Obama family has honored Martin Luther King Jr. Day by participating in a community service project. This week Obama encouraged people to participate with him in the day of service via Twitter.

First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden will host a Kids Inaugural Concert Saturday evening at the Washington Convention Center that will honor military families. Invited guests at the concert include families of active duty, reserve and retired service members.

--This report was originally published at 10:32 a.m. and last updated at 1:38 p.m.

More from The Hill:
• At halftime of his presidency, Obama looks to lessons of first four years
• Poll: Voters pessimistic as Obama prepares for second inauguration
• Inauguration festivities list

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States Aim To Strengthen Gun Safety Regulations

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