Delivering the commencement address at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, Wednesday, President Barack Obama said cadets will have to deal with the effects of climate change in their careers.
"You know the beauty of the sea, but you also know its unforgiving power," Obama said. "Here at the Academy, climate change- understanding the science and the consequences- is part of the curriculum, and rightly so, because it will affect everything that you do in your careers."
And some graduates say they'll be dealing with climate change as soon as this summer.
"We’re environmental stewards in the Coast Guard," said Ensign Nickolette Morin. "And so it's one of our primary missions."
Morin is a resident of Thompson, Connecticut and one of Wednesday's graduates. Her first mission will put her on the Coast Guard Cutter Healy, the Coast Guard's newest, and most technologically advanced, icebreaker ship. It's leaving Seattle for the North Pole this summer. They'll be supporting several U.S. government research projects, studying to see if melting Arctic ice could mean new sea transit routes.
“There’s a whole ‘nother ocean that is opening up before us," said Admiral Paul Zukunft, singling out the Healy in his speech to graduates. "As ice gives way to open ocean in the Arctic, a whole new domain has opened up.”
Obama said all branches of the military need to be ready to respond to threats posed by rising sea levels and climate change, including more responses to extreme weather events like Superstorm Sandy in 2012.
