Two dozen Nebraskans joined Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln on Monday in urging state senators to create a task force to develop a strategic plan for Nebraska to prepare for climate change.
"Opportunities exist for the people of Nebraska to respond appropriately to these risks," Pansing Brooks told the Legislative Council's executive board.
And that includes economic opportunities through the development of renewable energy from Nebraska's wind and solar resources along with reduction of pollutants and development of agricultural innovation, she said.
Former Sen. Ken Haar of Malcolm headed the parade of supporters who urged senators to approve LB646, which would create a pests, drought, flood and extreme weather mitigation and preparedness task force to develop a strategic plan.
Climate change presents "a new area of risk, challenges and opportunities," Haar said.
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Agriculture, water, health care, energy generation and usage, forestry, transportation, rural and urban communities, all will be impacted by extreme weather and the ongoing challenges of climate change, senators were told.
Average temperatures in Nebraska are expected to rise by four to eight degrees by the end of the 21st century. An increase in severe weather events, including both drought and flooding, is also anticipated.
Soil moisture is expected to decrease by 5 to 10 percent by the end of the century, partly because of reduced snowpack in the Rockies and reduced stream flow in the Platte and Missouri rivers.
"Action now is better than reaction later," Pansing Brooks said.
"Our climate is changing," John Pollack, a retired National Weather Service meteorologist, told the committee. "I've seen the evidence of flooding and drought."
Pollack spoke for the Nebraska chapter of the Sierra Club.
The climate change task force proposal emerged from a carefully constructed legislative study co-chaired by Haar, a Democratic progressive, and Sen. Tyson Larson of O'Neill, a conservative Republican.
With the words "climate change" politically loaded and explosive, the study committee's final report chose to sound an alert, rather than an alarm, about the issue.Â
Its final recommendations called for creation of "an evidence-based, data-driven climate action plan."
The title of LB646 refers to "extreme weather preparedness."Â