In common usage, Climate Change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth’s climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to Earth’s climate. The current rise in global average temperature is more rapid than previous changes, and is primarily caused by humans burning fossil fuels.

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The Climate Change category has related posts on government agencies and departments and  committees and their Chairs.

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is a cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States’ policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material. Its responsibilities include the nation’s nuclear weapons program, nuclear reactor production for the United States Navy, energy conservation, energy-related research, radioactive waste disposal, and domestic energy production. It also directs research in genomics; the Human Genome Project originated in a DOE initiative. DOE sponsors more research in the physical sciences than any other U.S. federal agency, the majority of which is conducted through its system of National Laboratories.

The agency is led by the United States Secretary of Energy, and its headquarters are located in Southwest Washington, D.C., on Independence Avenue in the James V. Forrestal Building, named for James Forrestal, as well as in Germantown, Maryland.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on December 2, 1970, after Nixon signed an executive order. The order establishing the EPA was ratified by committee hearings in the House and Senate.

The agency conducts environmental assessment, research, and education. It has the responsibility of maintaining and enforcing national standards under a variety of environmental laws, in consultation with state, tribal, and local governments. EPA enforcement powers include fines, sanctions, and other measures.

Source: Wikipedia

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health. With an annual budget of about $8.3 billion (fiscal year 2020), the

NSF funds approximately 25% of all federally supported basic research conducted by the United States’ colleges and universities. In some fields, such as mathematics, computer science, economics, and the social sciences, the NSF is the major source of federal backing.

Source: Wikipedia

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA) is a scientific and regulatory agency within the Washington, D.C.–based United States Department of Commerce, headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland.

The agency is charged with forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, charting the seas, conducting deep sea exploration, and managing fishing and protection of marine mammals and endangered species in the U.S. exclusive economic zone.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders on April 1, 1979.

The agency’s primary purpose is to coordinate the response to a disaster that has occurred in the United States and that overwhelms the resources of local and state authorities. The governor of the state in which the disaster occurs must declare a state of emergency and formally request from the President that FEMA and the federal government respond to the disaster. The only exception to the state’s gubernatorial declaration requirement occurs when an emergency or disaster takes place on federal property or to a federal asset.

Mission:  
Jurisdiction over matters related to energy and mineral resources, including nuclear development; irrigation and reclamation, territorial possessions of the United States, trust lands appertaining to America’s indigenous peoples, and the conservation, use, and disposition of federal lands. Its roots go back to the Committee on Interior and Insulars Affairs.

House counterparts:  House Committee on Energy and Commerce, House Committee on Natural Resources, House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

Democratic Members (Minority):
Heinrich, Martin (NM), Ranking Member
Wyden, Ron (OR)
Cantwell, Maria (WA)
Hirono, Mazie K. (HI)
King, Angus S. (ME)
Cortez Masto, Catherine (NV)
Hickenlooper, John W. (CO)
Padilla, Alex (CA)
Gallego, Ruben (AZ)

Republican Members (Majority):
Lee, Mike (UT), Chairman
Barrasso, John (WY)
Risch, James E. (ID)
Daines, Steve (MT)
Cotton, Tom (AR)
McCormick, David (PA)
Cassidy, Bill (LA)
Hyde-Smith, Cindy (MS)
Murkowski, Lisa (AK)
Hoeven, John (ND)

Featured Video: 
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on nuclear energy
March 25, 2021

Current: US Senator since 2007
Affiliation: Republican
Leadership: Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference and Chair, Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests 
Next Election: 

History: Barrasso graduated from Georgetown University, where he received his B.S. and M.D. He conducted his medical residency at Yale University before moving to Wyoming and beginning a private orthopedics practice in Casper. Barrasso was active in various medical societies and associations.

Barasso served in the Wyoming State Senate from 2003 to 2007. 

Featured Video: Barrasso on Nord Stream 2 Deal

Mission:  
Jurisdiction for legislation and oversight of the natural and built environment and for studying matters concerning environmental protection and resource conservation and utilitization.

House counterparts: Committee on Energy and Commerce; Committee on Natural Resources; Committee on Science, Space, and Technology; and Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

Democratic Members (Minority):
Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island, Ranking Member
Bernie Sanders, Vermont
Jeff Merkley, Oregon
Ed Markey, Massachusetts
Mark Kelly, Arizona
Alex Padilla, California
Adam Schiff, California
Lisa Blunt Rochester, Delaware
Angela Alsobrooks, Maryland

Republican Members (Majority):
Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia, Chair
Kevin Cramer, North Dakota
Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming
John Curtis, Utah
Peter Ricketts, Nebraska
John Boozman, Arkansas
Roger Wicker, Mississippi
Dan Sullivan, Alaska
Lindsey Graham, South Carolina
Jerry Moran, Kansas

Featured Video: 
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee holds hearing to debate transportation infrastructure

Current: US Senator since 2015
Affiliation: Republican
Leadership: Ranking Member, U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works 

History:  Capito was educated at  Duke University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in zoology; and the University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development, where she earned her master’s degree. Capito was a career counselor at West Virginia State University and director of the educational information center for the West Virginia Board of Regents.

Capito was elected to Kanawha County’s seat in the West Virginia House of Delegates in 1996, and served two terms, from 1996 to 2000. Capito served seven terms as the U.S. representative from West Virginia’s 2nd congressional district from 2001 to 2015. The daughter of three-term West Virginia governor Arch Alfred Moore Jr.

Featured Quote:  WATCH This #WestVirginiaDay, I asked my staff and friends across the state what they think of when West Virginia comes to mind. Today and every day is a great day to be a West Virginian.

Featured Video: Watch West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito at the 2016 Republican National Convention

The Committee on Energy and Commerce serves as the principal guide for the House in matters relating to the promotion of commerce and to the public’s health and marketplace interests, with the relatively recent addition of energy considerations among them.

Senate counterparts: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

Subcommittees:

•  Communications and Technology
• Energy, Climate and Grid Security
• Environment, Manufacturing and Critical Minerals
• Health
• Innovation, Data and Commerce
• Oversight and Investigations

Chair: Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Washington (R)
Ranking Member: Frank Pallone, New Jersey (D)

Majority Staff Director: N/A
Minority Staff Director: N/A
Meeting Location:

Featured Video: 
Disinformation Nation: Social Media’s Role in Promoting Extremism and Misinformation – March 25, 2021

Current Position: US Representative of NJ District 6 since 1981
Affiliation: Democrat
District:   includes the northern and eastern portions of Middlesex County and the coastal areas of Monmouth County, including towns along the Raritan Bay
Upcoming Election:

The 6th district, numbered as the 3rd district from 1988 to 1993, is in the north-central part of the state and includes New Brunswick, Woodbridge Township, Perth Amboy, Sayreville, Edison, Piscataway and Asbury Park. Pallone is the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Before being elected to the House, he was a member of the Long Branch City Council from 1982 to 1988.

The House Committee on Natural Resources considers legislation about American energy production, mineral lands and mining, fisheries and wildlife, public lands, oceans, Native Americans, irrigation and reclamation.

Senate Counterpart:  Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

Subcommittees:

• Energy and Mineral Resources
• Federal Lands
• Indian and Insular Affairs
• Oversight and Investigations
• Water, Wildlife and Fisheries

Chair: Bruce Westerman, Arkansas,
Ranking Member: Raúl Grijalva, Arizona

Majority Staff Director: Vivian Moeglein
Minority Staff Director: Lora Snyder
Meeting Location:  Committee on Natural Resources, 1324 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515; (202) 225-2761

Featured Video:  The President’s FY22 Budget Priority for the Territories: Medicaid, SSI, and SNAP Parity – July 28, 2021
Web Links

Current Position: US Representative of AR 4th District since 2015
Affiliation: Republican
Former Position: State Delegate from 2011 – 2015
District:   southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Arkansas. Notable towns in the district include Camden, Hope, Hot Springs, Magnolia, Pine Bluff, and Texarkana.
Upcoming Election:

Featured Quote: 
I recently signed a letter by @RepMcCaul to @POTUS asking for his continued support for Israel and action to cut off Iranian support to Palestinian terrorists. As the only true democracy in the Middle East, Israel is vital to the region’s stability and our national security.

Rep. Bruce Westerman Chats Forest Management and More

Current Position: US Representative of AZ – 03 since 2003 (formerly 3rd)
Affiliation: Democrat
Former Position: Chair, Pima County Board of Supervisors from 1989 – 2002
Other positions: Chair, Committee on Natural Resources
District:   The district stretches along the Mexico–United States border and includes the western third of Tucson, parts of Yuma and Nogales, as well as Avondale and Tolleson in Metro Phoenix
Upcoming Election:

Quotes:
I‘ve fought for years to ensure mining companies pay a public royalty, clean up after themselves and treat public resources as a common good. It’s time for mining reform that holds polluters accountable & protects sacred land like the Grand Canyon. Raul M. Grijalva

Rep. Raúl Grijalva on impeachment, USMCA and climate change