(OPINION) – Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm suggested Tuesday that climate change may have contributed to the tragic partial collapse of a condominium building in south Florida that killed at least 16 people and has left about 150 others missing. During an interview on CNN, Granholm was asked whether climate change played a role in the building collapse — and she appeared to agree that it had.
“Obviously, we don’t know fully, but we do know that the seas are rising. We know that we’re losing inches and inches of beaches, not just in Florida but all around,” Granholm said. “Michigan, where I’m from, we’ve seen the loss of beaches because the waters are rising, so this is a phenomenon that will continue.”
“This is a phenomenon that will continue. Whether it— we’ll have to wait to see what the analysis is for this building,” she added. Granholm, who was formerly governor of Michigan, later shifted the conversation to President Joe Biden’s controversial infrastructure proposal, explaining that investing in American infrastructure will help stem the tide of climate change and prevent future structural disasters.
“There’s so much investment that we need to do protect ourselves from climate change but also to address it and mitigate it,” Granholm contended. “Hopefully these infrastructure bills, when taken together, will make a huge step and allow America to lead again.” READ MORE
