14 DAY TRIAL // US President Barack Obama might have dismissed the Keystone-protesters who crashed one of his meetings and asked him to “stop climate change,” but this does not mean that he does not take ongoing changes in global weather patterns seriously.
On the contrary, it was only yesterday when the President signed a 10-page executive order establishing a new task force: the Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience.
Barack Obama detailed that this new task force is intended to help “prepare the nation” for whatever climate change-caused natural disasters will occur in the years to come.
Specifically, it will serve to inform the country's administration about the dangers the US faces due to climate change and global warming, and advise it with respect to the best ways to tackle these threats.
The President also argued that, although it was important that the country makes efforts to improve on its ecological footprint, it was equally necessary for it to prepare for upcoming extreme weather events brought about by climate change and global warming.
“The impacts of climate change – including an increase in prolonged periods of excessively high temperatures, more heavy downpours, an increase in wildfires, more severe droughts, permafrost thawing, ocean acidification, and sea-level rise – are already affecting communities, natural resources, ecosystems, economies, and public health across the Nation,” the executive order reads, as cited by The Blaze.
Furthermore, “[The Task Force will] identify opportunities to support and encourage smarter, more climate-resilient investments by States, local communities, and tribes, including by providing incentives through agency guidance, grants, technical assistance, performance measures, safety considerations, and other programs.”
The same source details that the newly established task force is made up of eight governors of states and eighteen local officials.
The Democratic governors included in the Task Force are as follows: Neil Abercrombie of Hawaii, Jerry Brown of California, Jay Inslee of Washington state, Jack Markell of Delaware, Martin O’Malley of Maryland, Pat Quinn of Illinois and Peter Shumlin of Vermont. They are joined by Republican governor Eddie Calvo of Guam.