U.S. President Barack Obama opened a Facebook account on Monday, as part of the White House initiative for the U.S. president to directly and actively address the public. In his first post, Obama used the social media platform to send a message for action on climate change.
Organizing for Action, the political organization that helped elect Obama, has long used an account under the name "Barack Obama." But the new page allows the president to speak in the first person, much like the Twitter account the White House launched for Obama in May.
Striking a conversational tone, Obama's first post was a video message on climate change that depicted the president walking around the South Lawn of the White House and marveling at the beauty of nature.
"Hello, Facebook! I finally got my very own page," Obama said in the post. "I'm kicking it off by inviting you to take a walk with me in my backyard - something I try to do at the end of the day before I head in for dinner."
In the video, Obama called on Americans to do their part to fight climate change.
"I want to make sure that the whole world is able to pass onto future generations the God-given beauty of this planet," Obama said, citing his upcoming trip to Paris to meet with world leaders on climate change.
"If all of America is joining around this critical project, then we can have confidence that we're doing right by future generations and passing onto our kids all the blessings that we've received," Obama said.
