Interagency Panel Discusses Global Warming, Great Lakes

Global warming will affect the Great Lakes. What steps can be taken to lessen the impact and adapt to the change are on the mind of the Obama administration. 

The administration recently held a meeting of the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force in Chicago. This meeting was the fourth public outreach meeting held by the group.

Speakers discussed problems that global warming could cause for the country in general and the Great Lakes region in particular. They emphasized that steps needed to be taken to mitigate global warming, but because some degree of warming is inevitable, steps also must be taken to adapt to the problem.

George Hartwell, the mayor of Grand Rapids, who ran the event, pointed to the importance that action taken at the local level can have on cutting carbon emissions. Hartwell said many cities have been far out in front of the the federal government on this issue.

Several speakers also discussed the rising temperature of Lake Superior. 

An agenda and video are here.