Rebecca Cohen

Climate change is sweeping indigenous villages into the sea in Alaska, flooding the taro fields of native Hawaiians and devastating the salmon population from which Washington state Indian tribes draw their livelihood, tribal leaders testified Thursday at a Senate hearing.

Layers of bureaucracy have bogged down efforts by the federal government to help troops transition to civilian life, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki told Congress on Wednesday.

Climate change is sweeping indigenous villages into the sea in Alaska, flooding the taro fields of Native Hawaiians and devastating the salmon population from which Indian tribes in Washington state draw their livelihood, tribal leaders testified Thursday at a Senate hearing.