President Trump back in March put a hard-stop on all federal agency actions tied to preparing for climate change. It was one of his many moves to curtail Obama’s initiatives during his presidency — making good on a campaign promise. Under Obama, the Defense Department launched a “climate change roadmap” that included a defense-wide review to calculate risks associated with catastrophic weather events.
Trump’s executive order could have completely squashed this review. But kudos to the brains at the Pentagon who are artfully side-stepping the whole “Is climate change real?” debate.
DoD is continuing its review but focusing on weather events in general, factoring in all potential risks and just dropping the emphasis on climate change.
To disregard the threat altogether would be a huge mistake that could cost lives. In extreme weather, the military is always called to assist. Just check out the men, women, ships and resources tapped to assist in the wake of hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
