Category: Environment
Level: National
This article concerns policies that affect individuals and
families.
This article talks about the new task force which aims to
improve the state and local response to storms, wildfires, droughts, and climate
change.
My views:
It is apparent that response to disasters could be improved
on the local, state, and national level. President Obama believes that forming
a task force composed of governors and mayors will help state and local
governments improve their responses. The task force will also examine how
federal money is spent on bridges, roads, flood control, and other projects.
The task force will also be involved in Obama’s plan to
reduce domestic carbon emissions by 17% by 2020, increase the production of
renewable energy on federal properties, and to help communities that are
dealing with hotter climates than before. Seeing officials recognize that climate change
and natural disasters are related is refreshing. Whatever you believe about
human kind’s impact on climate change, it’s hard to deny the fact that the
climate is changing. Some parts of the world are experiencing real temperature
increase and many places are facing a very different pattern of precipitation
than before. We need to anticipate what other changes may come and decide how
to best prepare for them. We also need to ensure that we are contributing as
little as possible the changes by cutting our emissions and becoming better
stewards of our resources.
It remains to be seen, however, how effective a task force
formed under executive order and containing 82% Democrats will be in this
current political climate. We’ve barely put the government shut-down behind us
and haven’t fully dealt with the debt-ceiling debacle. What type of authority
will this task force have? Who will listen to their recommendations? Personally,
I am not feeling very optimistic about the impact this task force will have.
No comments:
Post a Comment