Rep. Fattah Greets NOAA Chief, Praises Climate Change Agreement with Public Gardens

PHILADELPHIA, June 24, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA-02) welcomed Dr. Jane Lubchenco, who oversees the nation's weather service, to Philadelphia today and praised the agency's new agreement to raise awareness on climate change and global warming.

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"It is important for our nation to have a public dialogue that informs Americans about the challenges we face because of climate change, instead of the rhetoric we hear that has been confusing and dismissing those challenges," Fattah said.

The Congressman delivered a keynote greeting to the annual conference of the American Public Gardens Association (APGA) at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel. His remarks preceded the signing of an agreement between Dr. Lubchenco, Administrator of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, and APGA's President Dan Stark.

Fattah, Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and related agencies with responsibility for NOAA funding, greeted Lubchenco at the meeting . He called her a "superstar" in climate and environmental science and pointed out that before her appointment by President Obama she was the winner of a MacArthur Foundation Genius grant.

The NOAA and APGA agreement, the event that brought Dr. Lubchenco to Philadelphia, identifies four priority areas to work together on strategic goals related to climate change awareness and climate literacy. NOAA is the parent agency of the National Weather Service; APGA represents 500 large public gardens, parks and arboretums with over 75 million visitors a year.

Fattah praised the Public Gardens group for "engaging young people." He made special note of climate change awareness programs that point low-income and under-served youth in the cities toward the studies of science, technology and innovation.

"We need a new generation of scientists" in order to compete and excel in the global economy, Fattah said.

SOURCE Office of Congressman Chaka Fattah