Coping with climate change

I’m not interested in any more stories about Polar Bears. Those stories are just incremental measures of the climate change that we all know is coming. One reporter I spoke with this week called people who want to still debate whether climate change is real “members of the flat earth society. I say the scientists have it right.

Now, we need to figure out how to live with the change that is happening no matter how much we reduce greenhouse gases. That’s the real story.How are ordinary people going to cope with floods, record heat, water shortages, shorelines washed away and even new diseases that will thrive where they couldn’t before? It’s my job to make sure our community is resilient to climate change.

In the coming years there will be winners and losers in the world and the winners will live where governments have looked at how to best cope with the inevitable change. I am determined to make sure we are winners. Our safety, health and economy for the next 50 years depend on the work we do today that will protect us in the future.

I’m thinking and talking about this a lot this week as we host a meeting of nine metropolitan leaders who are all doing the work to provide resiliency and sharing this work to build a model for the rest of the world to use. The work is being led by the Center for Clean Air Policy, a think tank in Washington, D.C., and partially funded by the Rockefeller Foundation. It’s important work, and I’m thankful to have the support of both organizations. Learn more on their Web sites. Or watch a video about the event.

Highlights from the Earth Day Expo

On Earth Day, I had the pleasure of hanging out with Bert the Salmon, EcoConsumer Tom Watson, the Yard Talk Guys and hundreds of folks who stopped by the 5th annual King County Earth Day Expo in Seattle’s Westlake Park. Our DNRP staff set up the King County booth and shared ideas on easy ways to go green, volunteer for Earth-friendly activities, reduce your carbon footprint and make your home and garden more environmentally sound.

Events like that are so fun for me because I can talk to people about how this fits into their lives and what it means for their family. Taking the bus more often or carpooling, shutting off the water while you brush your teeth, using low-flow water fixtures and energy-efficient light bulbs, recycling and composting are things most people can do to help.

As part of “living green” at our house, we recycle, compost our food scraps to use in our garden, bike to work when the weather permits, and use a hybrid car when it doesn’t. Sure, they’re small steps. But they have a big impact when we all pitch in.

The best part of the Earth Day Expo for me was seeing all the kids in the Children’s activity corner learning how to promote environmental awareness and learn fun ecological facts. I want kids like my granddaughter to inherit a world that’s better off environmentally than it is now. We have a lot of work to do, but the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks has some tips on making easy environmental choices at the website It’s Easy Being Green. Peace to you.