(RepublicanInformer.com)- The White House has a new person who will lead its studies about climate change.
Allison Crimmins will head up the government report, which is expected to be a major one for the Biden Administration. She takes over for Betsy Weatherhead, an appointee under former President Donald Trump, who was removed from her position back in April.
The report, officially called the Fifth National Climate Assessment, that Crimmins is now in charge of is expected to take quite some time to compile. The White House said it won’t be released until 2023, but will be used to provide the public with information about climate change as well as inform various government policy.
Before this assignment Crimmins worked for nearly 10 years at the Environmental Protection Agency as a climate scientist.
The White House said the report will look to come up with interactive tools that can help people easily access information in it. It’ll also expand areas of focus so people can prepare better for the economic and social impacts that climate change will have.
Ultimately, the report will also seek to ty to improve planning for adaptation to climate change.
In a statement, Crimmins said she’s particularly interested in highlighting any disparities in impact that climate change is having. She said, in part:
“I’m committed to ensuring NCA5 represents and benefits all Americans. When every American has access to practical, usable information on how climate change affects their businesses, families and communities, they can both reduce risks and seize opportunities.
“By highlighting the often-disparate impacts of climate change, we can make informed choices and take collective action that transforms outcomes. We’re in this together.”
The last such report, the Fourth National Climate Assessment, was issued back in 2018. In part, it warned climate change was creating new risks for various, and would likely impede economic growth throughout the country.
In addition, it warned that water quantity and quality would be impacted significantly, which could lead to other impacts that “threaten the health and well-being of the American people.”
Many people are saying that it’s already happening, just three years later. Severe droughts in the American southwest, for example, are threatening people’s supply to water as the man-made Lake Mead and the natural Colorado River are drying up rapidly.
Some states are already putting water usage restrictions in place, and it’s possible a water shortage could be declared later this year, forcing limitations on drawing from the water starting in 2022.
Weatherhead has been consistently praised by the scientific community. She is an atmospheric scientist that was very well regarded.
However, there were reports that she was butting heads with various officials from all 13 agencies that were participating in research programs. No one confirmed this was the reason for her removal as head of the NCA5, though.
All that officially came out of Washington was a note by the U.S. Geological Survey, which said her detail with the Office of Science Technology Policy at the White House had ended, so she was returned to her original post at the USGS.
