King County praised as national leader in addressing climate change

Oct. 27, 2005

King County praised as national leader in addressing climate change

During the 2005 King County Climate Change Conference, keynote speaker Christine Todd Whitman, former head of the Environmental Protection Agency and New Jersey governor, praised Executive Sims for his national leadership role in addressing the effects of global warming by taking proactive steps today and planning for future actions.

As host of the sold out 2005 King County Climate Change Conference, Sims brought together representatives from a broad cross-section of local governments and state agencies, education, business, the tribes, agriculture, nonprofit organizations and communities. Participants learned about and discussed climate change impacts and potential adaptations of services to expected conditions.

Whitman described King County as "among the most forward-thinking environmental agencies in the country," adding that she was pleased to note that several years ago the county began measuring and publicizing its progress toward meeting its environmental goals.

"Today, it's local and state governments, businesses and the public that are setting the pace – as this conference clearly demonstrates," Whitman said.

Sims noted that King County has been attacking global warming on several fronts, including water conservation efforts, reducing greenhouse gas emissions through its modern, clean-fuel-burning Metro bus fleet, and through growth management that strives to contain urban sprawl while preserving forested lands that help clean the air.

"We can have growth and development while we make strides in protecting our environment," Sims said. "It takes thought and careful planning, and we are committed to doing just that here in King County ."

Sims said part of that planning effort is constructing a reclaimed water pipeline during the early stage of construction at the new Brightwater wastewater treatment plant. He called the reclaimed water "backbone" one of the most important investments King County can make to preserve freshwater supplies in the future.

Sims has appropriated $26 million in the 2006 budget to fund construction of the reclaimed water system as part of the Brightwater construction project. The pipeline would be capable of delivering millions of gallons of Class A reclaimed water from the treatment plant in southern Snohomish County to customers throughout north and east King County . Class A reclaimed water is water treated to the highest possible level, and is suitable for all uses except drinking.

"This reclaimed water ‘backbone' provides us with a drought-proof source of water for irrigation and industrial uses that don't required drinking-water quality water," Sims said.

Climate conference participants learned how climate change has already been affecting agriculture, forestry, hydropower and the fishing industry in the Pacific Northwest – and that more changes are expected in the near future.

Other speakers featured at the conference included Dr. Stephen Schneider, world-renowned climate expert and lead author of international consensus documents on climate science; and John Cox, author of Climate Crash: Abrupt Climate Change and What it Means for Our Future.