OBAMA SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER AIMED AT ‘PREPARING THE UNITED STATES FOR THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE’

President Barack Obama signed an executive order Friday directing federal agencies to take a series of steps aimed at helping local communities “strengthen their resilience to extreme weather and prepare for other impacts of climate change.”

“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 said.