March 22, 2006
King County Executive Ron Sims announces ‘Acting Locally’ package of reforms that will meet the growing threat of global warming
King County Executive Ron Sims today launched an "Acting Locally" package of initiatives to combat global warming by signing a series of Executive Orders directing county departments to make significant operational changes which will prepare the Central Puget Sound Region for the growing threat posed by global warming.
Sims signed four Executive Orders directing county departments to increase their use of ‘green‘ power and biodiesel, turn more wastewater and garbage gas into electricity and double the number of acres preserved in forest and open space.
"We should not be overwhelmed by the prospects of global warming, we can take actions to reduce the amount of pollution we generate as well as prepare for the harmful changes in our weather that scientists say are inevitable," Sims said. "Global warming is not a theory, it is a reality. It is not an inconvenience, it is a threat to our economy and to our very way of life.
"We can prepare, not just fear global warming," said Sims. "That is why I am asking our department directors to fundamentally reshape how the county conducts its business. These changes will make us a national leader in addressing the mounting threats posed by climate change."
The effort builds upon the county's already extensive efforts to mitigate the negative climate impacts of fossil fuel use. The Executive Orders represent a major step forward in establishing environmentally friendly long-term policies that will encourage use of innovative new technologies, promote sustainable economic development, protect our shrinking green spaces and preserve in perpetuity the high quality of life currently enjoyed by the county's residents.
The four Executive Orders commit the county to:
- Ensure that at least 50 percent of King County's total energy use comes from renewable energy sources by the year 2012 for non-transit uses and 2020 for transit.
- Increase the amount of biodiesel mix used in the county's vehicles from the current five percent mix to a 20 percent mix, a switch that will result in the use of 2.5 million gallons of biofuels annually, thus making King County the state's largest purchaser of the environmentally friendly fuel.
- Commit the county to maximize the reclamation of water produced at its sewage treatment plants. By using reclaimed water for irrigation and industry, this plan leaves tens of millions of gallons of drinking water for other uses. A $26 million investment will build the main reclaimed water distribution pipe. Brightwater will be ready to deliver 21 million gallons per day of reclaimed water when the plant is online in 2010.
- Use all waste gases produced at treatment plants and the Cedar Hills Landfill for climate-friendly energy purposes.
- Conserve an additional 100,000 acres of green space in King County by 2010, on top of the more than 130,000 acres already conserved, while also coordinating land use and transit policies to promote a sharp increase in public transit use
Sims said recent studies indicating that global warming is already well advanced added a sense of urgency to the county's preparations.
"A growing body of work by climate scientists is revealing that the Pacific Northwest is one of the earth's most sensitive regions to rising temperatures," Sims said. "The atmospheric changes already underway will shrink our snow pack, precipitate severe seasonal droughts, raise water levels and cause extensive flooding, and undermine agricultural production. We have to take action now."
The four executive orders signed by Sims cover a broad range of interconnected topics which together add up to a comprehensive strategy to slow the onset, and significantly reduce the impacts, of global warming. The orders set goals, establish benchmarks, and revamp policy objectives in four major areas: land use and conservation, transportation, waste disposal and water supplies, and energy consumption and emissions. Detailed plans for meeting the goals set by Sims' orders are now being written, and will be finalized by the end of the year.
"Just 30 years ago, recycling was a new idea. Just 20 years ago, the Internet was inconceivable. So I know that if we have the will we can change, and change rapidly," Sims said. "Last week I met a woman, Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai, who has single handedly built a culture of environmentalism, peace and security by encouraging individual women in Kenya each to plant a single tree and plug into a bigger network of cultural change. To me that's what this 'Acting Locally' initiative is about too. Backed by sustained political will, we will unleash our human capital and technological sophistication to meet head on the threat posed by one of the most profound problems of our time. We can provide an example to others. As Maathai proved, soon one tree can multiply and become one thousand. Soon the very fabric of our culture can be reformed as we become more caring of our shared environment and more careful about how our actions impact it."
Sims also announced a new King County Global Warming Web site and a global warming e-newsletter and e -mail address global.warming@metrokc.gov. People can learn more about actions they can take to help slow global warming and get information about what King County is doing. He added that the current efforts were only the first step in the "Acting Locally" plan to meet the challenge created over decades by the debilitating national addiction to fossil fuels. Other major aspects of the program are expected to be announced in upcoming weeks.