The University of Toledo will host a community discussion on preparedness for climate change to assist a White House task force addressing the issue.
The Roundtable on Resilience in the Face of Climate Impact will be held Wednesday, July 30, from 4 to 6 p.m. in Nitschke Hall’s SSOE Conference Room on Main Campus. The event is open to faculty, staff, students and community members.
Paula Brooks, a member of the White House Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience and Franklin County commissioner, will lead the local discussion as part of her efforts to collect information and suggestions for the task force to present to President Obama. The UT roundtable will focus on reducing federal barriers and redirection for existing federal funding.
UT faculty members to offer their subject matter expertise include:
• Dr. Defne Apul, associate professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, who will speak about infrastructure issues;
• Dr. Scott Heckathorn, associate professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences, will address agriculture and growing issues;
• Dr. Sanjay Khare, associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, will speak about energy issues; and
• Dr. Andy Jorgensen, associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, will address education issues.
As part of the President’s Climate Action Plan, Obama signed an executive order Nov. 1 establishing the Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience to advise the administration on how the federal government can respond to the needs of communities nationwide that are dealing with the impacts of climate change.
The State, Local and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience will provide recommendations to the president on removing barriers to resilient investments, modernizing federal grant and loan programs to better support local efforts, and developing the information and tools they need to prepare, among other measures.
