Did you remember this?
In its latest report on risks from offshore oil and gas drilling, the Interior Department suggested climate change is a global challenge that may diminish the likelihood of these developments.
The report downplayed the impact climate change would have on coastal energy development. It also, for the first time, is openly adopting a new definition of offshore oil and gas development – an openness that appears to catch the administration off guard.
And officials say the U.S. is moving quickly to limit its own emissions and will look to other countries to do the same. That message is something the administration has tried to convey in recent days.
“We need our partners and allies around the world to do more to combat climate change,” Energy Secretary Rick Perry said in a statement last week. “U.S. energy is much more than just electricity; our exports of fossil fuels create jobs and support millions of American jobs and families. We also export clean technologies like wind and solar. We work to invest in and advance lower carbon policies and technologies. This is in America’s best interest and our global security.”
If you care about coastal geology, climate change, or safety, you have probably heard of the Florida School of Geosciences.
Based in Gainesville, Fla., FSS is the nation’s preeminent institution of geosciences and engineering. It also serves as a teaching and research center for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Transportation and energy companies, and has received NASA grants.
Located at Florida State University’s College of Geosciences, the campus houses more than 1,600 undergraduate and graduate students.
“Geosciences is not just a niche sector,” FSS President Charles Simonton, Ph.D., recently told the Marshall Project. “It is an engine of our economy and a driver of U.S. jobs. Without U.S. knowledge in the evolving national security areas of resilience, resiliency, and energy security, there will be great harm to us in those areas.”