President Obama Signs Executive Order Creating Task Force on Climate Change

In recent years, the impact of natural disasters on American communities has been devastating. Just over a year ago, Hurricane Sandy destroyed towns and lives along the Eastern coast...


In recent years, the impact of natural disasters on American communities has been devastating. Just over a year ago, Hurricane Sandy destroyed towns and lives along the Eastern coast reaching states as far up the coastline as New York City. On Friday afternoon, President Obama signed an executive order that he hopes will help better prepare America for future disasters due to Mother Nature and the climate change the world is currently enduring.

What Is in the Executive Order?

The purpose of the executive order, titled “Preparing the United States for the Impacts of Climate Change,” signed Friday is to get Congress and local communities talking. In recent years, the Federal Government has strived to put into place better strategies and policies that are aimed at helping America be better prepared for any obstacle Mother Nature decides to throw. With the signing of this executive order, President Obama hopes to build on progress already made while at the same time work towards new policy and procedures that can help the American people even further. Within the text of the executive order, is wording calling for the creation of a new task.

Who Will Make Up This Task Force?

The Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience will be formed to help America better prepare for the impacts associated with climate change. The task force will be made up of state and local leaders. Seven governors will sit on the task force inkling the Republican governor of the U.S. territory Guam. The task force will also consist of fourteen mayors from across the nation as well as two local leaders. An unidentified official with the Obama Administration stated on Friday that several organizations around the country were asked to make recommendations for this task force. The National Governors Association selected a few of the seven Governors chosen through recommendation and nomination. Governors from California, Hawaii and Illinois have already been selected and agreed to sit on the newly formed task force.

What Will the Task Force Do?

With money tight and political leaders trying to find ways to cut the growing deficit, President Obama hopes the newly formed task force can finds ways to help combat the impacts associated with climate change while at the same time doing it in a fiscally conservative matter. The task force will be in charge of looking at federal money and deciding how to best spend it to help the issue at hand. The task force members can decide from a variety of means such as if money should be spent on new roads, bridges or flood control efforts.

The task force will need to look at new technology and find ways to build new infrastructure so it can be more resilient to the impacts of climate change. In today’s technologically advanced world, the science is there to build structures that can resist hurricane strengths like the ones seen with Hurricane Sandy. The task force will be assigned to take those technologies and find fiscal ways to implement them.

The executive order signed Friday by President Obama is a continuation of the Obama Administration’s efforts to combat climate change. When first elected, President Obama sought to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 17% before the year 2020. With this executive order, he is well on his way to accomplishing this goal.