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	May 27, 2004 Increases in vehicle travel affect air quality and climate Indicators show positive effects of rural preservation policies, citizen response to water conservation and recycling King County Executive Ron Sims today released the 2004 Environment Benchmarks Bulletin, which says decreasing vehicle miles traveled within the county is key to improving air quality, slowing climate change, and decreasing energy consumption. According to the report, since 1985, the county has nearly doubled the number of car and truck miles traveled, as residents now drive 16.3 billion miles per year, compared to 8.6 billion miles per year in 1985, clogging roads and the air. “By continuing to concentrate new development in areas close to jobs and public transportation, we can reduce vehicle travel with its harmful emissions and cut commute times,” said Executive Sims. “As a result, we will continue to preserve the quality of rural and forest areas, wetlands, and salmon habitat.” “This just reinforces what we already know – that land use choices we make play a major role in how we protect our overall environmental quality,” added Sims, whose comprehensive planning has incorporated many factors aimed at protecting that quality. In 1991, King County and the cities in the county developed countywide planning policies, as mandated by the Growth Management Act. Sims said it is these policies relating to land use, economic development, transportation, affordable housing, and environmental quality that provide the vision for managing growth in King County through the next few decades. King County’s Benchmarks Program measures the progress toward growth management goals by tracking progress on 45 key indicators of achieving the growth management goals of the county. The county has been recognized nationally and internationally for its growth management policies and its outcome-oriented Benchmark monitoring program. Some of the other indicators that were included in the bulletin, and what they mean are as follows: Climate change and energy use tied to vehicle travel Local data on greenhouse gas emissions have just begun to be collected. Cars, trucks, and buses contribute at least 55 percent of those emissions in our region. Other regions of the country have more coal-burning facilities which are also a major contributor. While there are long-term natural climatic changes that have taken place through the earth’s history, there is a growing scientific consensus that the climate changes of the last 50 to 100 years are human-induced to a significant extent. The 20th century’s 10 warmest years all occurred in the last 15 years of the century. The eight warmest years on record (since accurate record-keeping began in the late 19th century) occurred in the last nine years, i.e. 1995 - 2003. King County is reducing diesel emissions through the Diesel Solutions program - a partnership among King County, Seattle, the Boeing Company, Durham School Services, and Phillips Petroleum to bring cleaner diesel vehicles and fuels to our region. Success in water conservation and home energy consumption King County residents have stepped up to the plate and reduced per capita water consumption by 24 percent since 1985. But with the prospect of a growing population and climate change, progress in water conservation is still needed. Per capita consumption of electricity fell by 5.2 percent, and per capita natural gas usage fell by 7.4 percent since 1996. This is the cumulative effect of more efficient home appliances, water heaters, and heating systems, better insulation, and better home building practices, as well as household conservation efforts. Fuel consumption up; new vehicles less fuel-efficient The gains in energy conservation at home and at work have been more than offset by the increase in vehicle fuel consumption. Per capita diesel fuel usage has increased by over 25 percent since 1996, while per capita gasoline usage has increased by 4.3 percent in those eight years. Energy consumption also shows the effect of more driving in a vehicle fleet that is becoming less fuel-efficient. The fuel efficiency of the 2002 model cars and trucks, at 20.2 mpg was at its lowest level since 1980. Environmental quality significantly different in urban and rural areas Data on lakes, streams, and fish and wildlife habitat show that, by limiting development in the rural areas we are able to maintain those habitats in nearly pristine condition. Among smaller monitored lakes, the rural lakes were in the best condition, with 62.5 percent of them classified in very good condition, and just 37.5 percent in moderate condition. None were in poor condition. About 20 percent of city and non-city “urban” lakes were in poor condition, while half were classified in moderate condition, and one-third were in very good condition. Lake Washington, and Lake Sammamish are in good condition, showing slightly better scores in water clarity and algal growth than a decade ago. Lake Union has remained in moderate condition and should improve further with the completion of a project to reduce combined sewer overflows during extreme storms. These three major lakes are all within developed urban areas, and are therefore more environmentally-stressed than rural lakes. Forest cover and impervious surface affect lake, stream and habitat quality Urban lakes and streams, in areas with high levels of impervious surface (pavement, buildings, etc.) are more likely to be affected by surface run-off that includes petroleum products, lawn fertilizers, and other pollutants, while rural lakes and streams are less subject to that kind of pollution. Overall, 52 percent of the sampled streams in King County are in poor or very poor condition. Just 15 percent are in good or excellent condition. There is a notable difference between streams and overall habitat quality in the urban and rural areas. Most of the urban sub-basins show an average stream rating of “poor”, while those on the urban “fringe” tend to be in fair condition. The Deep and Coal Creek Sub-basin, in the rural area, is in good condition. A composite measure of overall habitat quality reached a similar conclusion: rural sub-basins are overwhelmingly in the high or medium-high quality range, while urban sub-basins are mainly in the low quality range. This composite measure considers salmonid usage, percent of vegetative cover, and road density (a surrogate for degree of impervious surface). Impervious surface in the urban area of King County increased from 26 percent of the entire urban area in 1994 to 31 percent in 2001. Forest cover declined by 2 percent during that period. However, recently regenerated forest is growing more rapidly than recent clear-cuts in the rural and forested areas of the county. Forest cover creates “carbon sinks” which offset the negative effects of the CO2 emissions which drive climate change, and it filters and slows surface water flow, preventing extreme high and low flows in streams. Calculations based on Landsat images show no net loss of wetland area between 1992 and 2001. Wetlands provide habitat for at least one-third of Washington’s threatened and endangered species. They also provide some of the same filtering qualities as forest cover. Groundwater measures show very good quality in the vast majority of cases. Just 2.6 percent of groundwater samples showed somewhat elevated nitrate levels, but all public wells met primary drinking water standards. Recycling adds to successes with more commercial efforts King County residents (including Seattle) recycled 55 percent of their residential waste in 2003. We continue to generate and dispose of more garbage, however, at the same time that we increase recycling. In Seattle, there has been a notable downward trend (improvement) in commercial waste generated per employee between 1990 and 2002. King County is also initiating programs to improve food waste collection for both household and commercial users, and to reduce disposal of commercial paper. The 2004 Environment Benchmarks Bulletin is posted online, at www.metrokc.gov/budget/benchmrk/bench03/environment.htm. Updated: May 27, 2004 Executive's home Executive's news Executive's site map | E-mail the Executive King County | Executive | News | Services | Comments | Search Links to external sites do not constitute endorsements by King County. By visiting this and other King County web pages, you expressly agree to be bound by terms and conditions of the site. The details.