On March 4th, in a move surely designed to side-step Congress, Obama's Council on Environmental Quality issued instructions to all federal agencies on how to adapt to climate change. All agencies, from the Food and Drug Administration to the Department of Defense, will be required to analyze their vulnerabilities to the impacts from climate change and come up with a plan to adapt. Thousands of governmental employees will be trained on climate science...
The changes aren't limited to just federal agencies. Countless numbers of private businesses that sell, build, provide logistics or maintenance, or anything else to the government will be forced to comply with new Federal climate adaptation guidelines—all because of Presidential Executive Order 13514.
How far reaching is this adaptation action? The National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) is holding a training and workshop conference on Obama's Executive Order in May. NDIA is the primary private industry group that supports the Department of Defense. To be clear, NDIA connects the DoD to bomb makers Raytheon, bullet manufacturers Sierra Bullets, and the designer of the stealth bomber, Northrup-Grumman. Now NDIA is training defense contractors on climate science and analysis based on a little known Executive Order.
How did this happen?
At first glance, President Obama's little-reported Executive Order 13514 (PDF) is a straightforward, environmentally-friendly one-two punch that boosts the sustainability of our government. 
The Order aims to lower the amount of greenhouse gases that the Federal Government emits, reduce environmental pollution and waste, and establish a permanent Sustainability Officer in each agency. It also "requires Federal Agencies to set a 2020 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target within 90 days; increase energy efficiency; reduce fleet petroleum consumption; conserve water; reduce waste; support sustainable communities; and leverage Federal purchasing power to promote environmentally-responsible products and technologies."
But tucked into EO 13514 is a provision that requires all Federal Agencies to also adapt to climate change. The Order's brief Section 16 (PDF) will have profound and long lasting effects on how our Federal Government responds to climate change. For here, each agency is required, among other things, to:
- Appoint a Climate Adaptation specialist
- Establish an Agency wide Climate Change Adaptation Policy and Mandate by June 2011
- Participate in Climate Adaptation workshops and then educate all employees throughout 2011
- Identify and analyze climate vulnerabilities that would interfere with accomplishing the Agency's mission by March 2012
- Implement the adaptation plan by September 2012
Is Credit Due to George W. Bush?
The mainstream media hasn't given this executive order much attention over the last year and a half but its implications are far-reaching. An Executive Order is a powerful and enforceable law, and it takes a (rare) Congressional super-majority to override the President's pen.
What might surprise you is that this was not Obama's idea. It was President George W. Bush's. You see, back in 2007, it was Bush who forced the Federal Government to lower emissions and become more sustainable. Executive Order 13423 (PDF) "Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management" was a short, sweet 5-pager that required all Federal Agencies to adopt sustainability plans. Two years later, in 2009, Obama merely expanded on Bush's idea. Obama tweaked the former requirements by upping the percentages of emissions cuts, boosting sustainability requirements, and adding in adapting to climate change.
Please read full by Michael Cote, GOOD magazine