http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/02/18/3624044/native-american-climate-funds/
The federal government is providing $8 million to help native communities in the U.S. plan for the impacts of climate change, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced Tuesday.
Half of the $8 million will go toward tribes’ general efforts to adapt to climate change, and half will go toward efforts focused specifically on coastal issues, such as sea level rise, erosion, and ocean acidification. Coastal issues are of particular concern to native communities in Alaska, where Jewell announced the new wave of funding.
“Sea level rise, coastal erosion, drought and more frequent and severe weather events are impacting Alaska Native villages and American Indian tribal communities across the nation,” Jewell said. “This funding can help tribes prepare and plan for climate-related events and build capacity to address these evolving challenges.”
Last year, the White House’s Climate Assessment singled out Alaskan native communities as some of the most vulnerable in the U.S. to climate change. The report noted that poverty among native groups can limit options for climate adaptation. That poverty makes moving difficult for tribes that need to migrate in order to escape rising seas or other climate impacts.
Native communities in other parts of the country are also feeling the impacts of climate change. Native Americans in the Southwest are subject to the same heat and severe droughts as the rest of the region’s residents, but Native Americans in particular have struggled with depleting water resources. Last October, the Environmental Protection Agency stated that 44 tribes in California were at risk of running out of water, and made $43 million available to Southwestern tribes who were weathering the drought. Most of the funding went toward less wealthy tribes who couldn’t afford to update their infrastructure to better deal with the drought and lack of water.
needless to say this is a Progressive initiative, what was missing is what chance is there for approval with the republicans in charge, they won't help their own states without proof of repay and we know their position of those of us who do not look like them. it will be interesting to see how they handle this catastrophe especially since it's catalyst is global warming which they have spent years denying so how can they believe these tribes are losing land when the cause doesn't exist?
we've gone through dumb last 6 years is this beginning of dumber 2 the sequel?
