President Obama Proposes New Funding to Build Resilience of Alaska's Communities and Combat Climate ChangeWhen the President visited Alaska in August, he described the urgent and growing threat of a changing climate as "a challenge that will define the contours of this century more dramatically than any other." Last year broke the record set by 2014 as the warmest year on record. Climate change is already disrupting our agriculture and ecosystems, our water and food supplies, our energy, our infrastructure, and our health and safety.In no place is this truer than in Alaska. The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world, and is experiencing the consequences. Higher average temperatures are diminishing the range of winter sea ice, allowing heavy storm surges to batter the Alaskan coastline, and interrupting the winter hunting season for Alaska Natives, many of whom rely on subsistence to feed themselves and their families.The President believes we must invest in Alaska's long-term economic and environmental well-being in a way that transcends his time in office. This priority, as well as the President's broader commitment to conservation and climate action -- and the economic growth they bring -- is evident throughout the President's 2017 Budget, literally from cover to cover.This week the Administration announced that $8.3 million will be allocated in the U.S. Army Corps 2016 work plan for safety related and other improvements of the harbor in Port Lions, Alaska.