In his latest global warming spiel, President Barack Obama, who some call the "great divider," exploits class envy to promote weather anxiety.

The weather does not hate. Lightning strikes white men and black men. Mother Nature can be fierce; but she is never a bigot.

If we assume climate change will cause "extreme heat," as the administration claims in a new report, the temperature will rise for white people, black people, Hispanics and American Indians. It won't recognize neighborhood boundaries. If it causes extreme weather events, suffering will blur ethnic and socioeconomic boundaries. The same hurricanes that ravage beachfront vacation homes will crush houses of the working poor.

This is not clear in reading Obama's latest global warming report. It characterizes global warming as a veritable racist. Consider a few key passages from a White House news release Monday, promoting a new presidential "final report" called "The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment."

"Climate change will have the largest health impact on vulnerable populations including those with low incomes, some communities of color, limited English proficiency and immigrant groups, indigenous peoples, children, pregnant women, older adults, vulnerable occupational groups, persons with disabilities and persons with preexisting or chronic medical conditions."

The feared climate change will taint water, but mostly for "Alaska Natives, residents of low-income rural subdivisions along the U.S.-Mexico border, migrant farm workers, the homeless and low-income communities not served by public water utilities — some of which are predominately Hispanic or Latino and African-American communities."

"Communities of color, low income, immigrant and limited English-proficiency groups also experience relatively greater incidence of chronic medical conditions, such as cardiovascular and kidney disease, diabetes, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which can be exacerbated by climate-related health impacts."

Authors riddled the report with other similar passages, reiterating that global warming will primarily harm minorities and the poor. It was written by "approximately 100 experts in climate-change science and public health" from the EPA, the Department of Health and Human Services, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Department of Defense and the Department of Veteran's Affairs.

If global warming disproportionately burdens "communities of color," it isn't because the sun dislikes them. It is because poverty is hard. Nearly all burdens are greater for the poor. Low-income Americans pay higher interest rates, which increase in relation to risk. They pay premiums for goods and commodities that cost less when purchased in bulk by people with good cash flow. They incur disconnect, reconnect, overdraft and late fees.

Similarly, the poor suffer most when storms cause disruption or destruction. Tornadoes don't choose to snack on mobile homes. If it seems that way, it is because low-cost housing fares poorly against high winds. Costlier structures are more likely to survive.

Indeed, bad weather is hardest on the poor. Just like the cost of global warming control.

Changing how we generate power to reduce carbon emissions will cost trillions. A 10 or 20 percent increase in the electric bill won't alter lifestyles of the wealthy, but may devastate households that barely afford rent.

Poverty is a hard, and will remain so, with or without global warming or expensive efforts to fix it. The president should promote his agenda without deceptively fueling class envy and division.

REPRINTED FROM THE COLORADO SPRINGS GAZETTE