'Climate hubs' to help farmers cope with extreme weather
Published 7:13 pm, Wednesday, February 5, 2014
President Obama's administration announced the formation on Wednesday of seven "climate hubs" to help farmers and rural communities adapt to extreme weather conditions and other effects of climate change.
The hubs will act as information centers and seek to help farmers and ranchers handle risks, including fires, pests, floods and droughts, that are exacerbated by global warming.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, briefing reporters at the White House, said the country's experience with extreme weather patterns recently underscores the need for taking steps now to address the impact of climate change on agriculture and forestry.
As an example of extreme weather, Vilsack cited a winter storm that struck South Dakota in October and killed thousands of cattle.
"When you take a look at the intensity of the storms that we have seen recently, and the frequency of them, the length of drought, combined with these snowstorms and the subzero weather that we've experienced, the combination of all those factors convinces me that the climate is changing," he said.
The hubs will be located in Ames, Iowa; Durham, N.H.; Raleigh, N.C.; Fort Collins, Colo.; El Reno, Okla.; Corvallis, Ore.; and Las Cruces, N.M., officials said.
Additional "sub hubs" will be set up in Davis; Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico; and Houghton, Mich.
The hubs are an example of executive actions Obama has promised to take to fight climate change.
The president has made the issue a top priority for 2014 and has the authority to take many measures that address it without congressional approval.
The Department of Agriculture says the effects of climate change have led to a longer crop growing season in the Midwest, a fire season that is 60 days longer than it was three decades ago, and droughts that cost the United States $50 billion from 2011 to 2013.
The Obama administration is expected to announce rules later this year limiting carbon emissions from existing U.S. power plants, a major polluter.