President Obama earlier this month appointed Franklin County Commissioner Paula Brooks to the 26-member Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience. She joins a group charged with advising the administration on ways the federal government can help U.S. communities as they experience impacts of climate change associated with global warming. Obama has signed an executive order directing federal agencies to take a series of steps to make it easier for communities to strengthen resilience to extreme weather and to make other preparations. Brooks is the only Ohioan on the panel.