In recognition of Franklin County’s leadership on environmental stewardship and emergency preparedness issues, Franklin County Ohio Commissioner Paula Brooks has been selected to serve on a new presidential task force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience that will advise the Obama Administration on how the Federal Government can best respond to the needs of communities nationwide that are dealing with extreme weather and other climate impacts. The president announced the new task force on Friday as part of his Climate Action Plan to cut carbon pollution, prepare communities for the impacts of climate change that cannot be avoided, and lead international efforts to address this global challenge. Brooks will bring first-hand experience in environmental preservation and addressing local climate impacts to the task force and its recommendations to the president on actions the federal government can be taking to ensure that it is responsive to the needs of communities like Franklin County. She is one of only 26 officials tapped for the taskforce, nationwide, and the only one from Ohio.
“I am humbled to join the president’s task force,” said Commissioner Brooks. “My focus will be on securing our children’s future, our economic vitality and good jobs, as well as our nation’s and community’s security.”
In addition to bringing more frequent and severe storms, floods, heat waves and wildfires, climate change caused by carbon pollution can also increase the risk of asthma attacks and other illnesses. The president has said that we have a moral obligation to our children and future generations to leave them a planet that is not polluted or damaged, and has also noted that climate change is a major economic threat, vowing new steps to help communities harden their defenses against global warming.
The president’s Climate Preparedness and Resilience task force will develop recommendations on how the federal government can best support state, local, and tribal leaders in their efforts to prepare for the impacts of climate change. This will include recommendations for removing federal barriers to resilient investments, modernizing federal grant and loan programs to better support local priorities, developing the information and tools we need to prepare our communities, and other relevant measures.
“This is an environmental issue, of course, as well as an economic and security issue,” said Paula Brooks. “The federal government can and should support local resilience efforts by promoting investments that bolster preparedness, strengthening critical infrastructure and public resources, supporting science and research on local climate impacts, and ensuring that federal operations and facilities continue to protect and serve Americans in a changing climate.”
For more information on the task force on Climate Preparedness, visit
www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq/initiatives/resilience/taskforce.