Sedro-Woolley converted its city vehicle fleet to a biodiesel blend fuel.
Burlington built a new City Hall and library with energy-efficient lighting and heating systems.
Mount Vernon heats its wastewater administration building with the methane gas generated in the treatment of water.
Skagit County has retrofitted many light fixtures to use timers and energy-saving thermostats.
Concrete started a program that lets residents chip up yard debris for free.
Several local governments and agencies have switched to fluorescent light bulbs.
All of those conservation measures add up. But they’re only a drop in the bucket toward meeting Washington’s goal of reducing greenhouse emissions to the 1990 level by 2020 — a goal the state can never meet without help at the local level.
“Changing out lightbulbs is very important. But it won’t get us there,” said Janice Adair, chairwoman of the Western Climate Initiative and special assistant to the head of the state Department of Ecology.
No one claims that getting “there” — to that 1990 level of emissions and beyond — will solve the problems related to a warmer climate. The goal is to slow down the human impact during the pursuit of solutions to help us adapt.
Skipping ahead
One might think that a logical first step involves some measurements. If carbon dioxide emissions are warming the planet, how much do the city of Anacortes or the La Conner School District emit?
But no Skagit government entities have measured their carbon footprint. And even if they did, there’s not much to compare it to, so it wouldn’t be clear whether the footprint — no matter the size — is big or small.
But at this point, officials like Adair say that doesn’t really matter. Whatever the footprint’s size, the goal is to make it smaller. The efforts to shrink it can start even without an official measuring tool.
In Skagit County, the work has begun. Though local leaders know some guidance from the state is on the way, they’re not sitting back waiting for it.
They see the easy steps they can take, like changing light bulbs or switching to biodiesel fuel, but many also see value in joining together to get things done.
Anacortes Mayor Dean Maxwell successfully proposed a plan to have several Skagit governments share the cost of hiring a consultant to identify ways to save energy. The Skagit Council of Governments will work with Puget Sound Energy next month to do just that.
The consultant will help each government involved find ways to reduce its own emissions. Ultimately, those same governments will pass ordinances and make decisions that touch the lives of residents they represent.
“If we’re asking people to do things the correct way and look to the future and try to cut back on some of the carbon we’re putting out there, we need to do it ourselves,” Skagit County Commissioner Sharon Dillon said.
Steps in a cleaner direction
Dillon was mayor of Sedro-Woolley in 2006 when some department heads approached her with the idea of using biodiesel fuel in city trucks. She told them to research it and get back to her.
They did, and she took the idea to the City Council. The council approved a test-run.
Less than a year later, the council voted narrowly to convert the city fleet to a biodiesel blend.
“We knew that it was something we needed to do for the future to start thinking about our environment and thinking about ways to do improvements and also taking our dependence off of crude (oil),” said Dillon, who was elected as a county commissioner soon after the city’s test-run began.
The fuel costs a little more than diesel, but Dillon said the city felt it was worth the extra cost.
When the state Climate Team comes back in February with initial recommendations for what needs to be done to meet the 2020 emissions goal, the balls will start rolling quickly.
Dillon said Skagit leaders decided not to wait to get organized locally.
“We’ll just be a little bit ahead of what the state is going to do. But we just figured it was time,” she said.
Not all local governments have signed onto that particular joint effort, but that doesn’t mean they’re not taking action.
For instance, La Conner Mayor Wayne Everton is the only mayor in Skagit County to have signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. By doing so, he committed that the town would actively aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and work with the state and federal governments in making substantive changes.
La Conner, Anacortes, Coupeville and Oak Harbor also participated in an international program aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions at the local level. That program, called ICLEI — Local Governments for Sustainability — focuses on encouraging local communities to determine what they can do to conserve energy and reduce emissions
Action in 2008
While most of 2007 was dedicated to setting lofty goals and exploring ways to meet them, 2008 should see some action — at least a start.
When Gov. Chris Gregoire created the Washington Climate Change Challenge last February, she had two state agencies form a team to find solutions for climate change issues. This February, she expects to see some results.
The Climate Advisory Team came up with a broad array of proposals and now seeks
public input through Jan. 10 before handing over a report the following month.
Many of the proposals will lead to directives and legislation that will affect the entire state. Some will require action at the local level.
That’s why local-level officials are part of the climate team. Real change can’t happen without them.
“Local governments are part of the solution, no matter what,” said Adair, of the state Ecology Department.
Local governments hold the power on the ground — through building permits, bus routes, rules and opportunities that affect individuals and the way they live.
“They have the avenues to pursue (that affect) the decisions you and I make — bus routes, transit, options to get out of our cars,” Adair said.
So in 2008, the governments closest to the people will hear the call for participation. And that should provide some opportunities beyond piecemeal efforts like changing lightbulbs.
Adair isn’t worried that local officials will avoid taking part.
“We get so many requests from local governments really wanting to start down this path,” she said.
Top-down
For widespread impact, working from the top-down can make things easier. But when the top isn’t moving quickly enough, Washington state has been known to do its own thing.
State Rep. Jeff Morris, D-Anacortes, said little has been done at the federal level to help states accomplish their goals to ease global warming. So, he said, the burden rests with state lawmakers to find workable solutions.
But he admits it’s no easy task.
“It’s almost like a nuclear arms race for climate change, without a lot of thought on the ground,” he said. “The Legislature can make a decision to take effect in six months, but we can’t always build the infrastructure to implement the technology.”
Congress recently passed an energy bill that aims to address the impact of greenhouse gases on the environment. The measure was designed to provide some influence on several climate change-related issues including a significant increase in fuel efficiency standards and renewable energy.
But Morris said that even when policymakers agree on strategies, the funding and technology to act aren’t always there.
And sometimes, when states take steps forward, they get pushed back.
The governor announced this month that Washington will join California, Oregon and other states in suing the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
The EPA blocked California’s plan to implement restrictive tailpipe emissions rules for vehicles. Those same standards had been adopted by a dozen states, including Washington.
“Washington cannot wait for permission to do the right thing for our state’s environment and future generations,” Gregoire said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.
A tool they can use
The state recognizes its own role in helping smaller governments take part in caring for the environment.
One way the state plans to help is by offering a tool that could allow a government office to see exactly how much greenhouse gas it puts into the atmosphere. From there, it can identify how to cut back.
Cascadia Consulting Group in Seattle built the tool (essentially a database), and Ecology gave it an initial test a few weeks ago at its facility in Lacey.
“We have found some pretty interesting things,” Adair said.
For instance, it found that the building is responsible for 5,556 metric tons of carbon dioxide emission per year. That’s 5.8 metric tons per employee at the Lacey building, Adair said.
“We don’t know if that’s high or low, but it sure sounds like a lot,” she said.
The next goal is to look at where the emissions come from and where they can be cut. It also means taking a close look at existing practices.
For example, while allowing flexible work shifts eases transportation pressures, particularly in urban areas, it also means buildings are heated longer each day. When searching for ways to cut emissions, the pros and cons of such practices would have to be weighed.
“It’s looking at the whole picture,” Adair said.
But beyond the snapshot of what governments can do to reduce their own emissions, the real challenge will be in getting the public involved. Governments can make rules and set standards, but in the end, the changes have to come from the people.
“It’s going to take every individual person,” Adair said. “This is not a government solution. This has got to be an individual (effort), everybody working toward the same goal.”
Skagit Warming Series:
Skagit Warming Page
Climate change and the Skagit Valley
Temperatures rising, glaciers melting in Northwest
Nature's Laboratory
Researchers explore effects of climate change on health
Warming's impact on Skagit water
Climate change poses threat to regional icons
Warming shifts odds away from salmon survival
Climate change could have dramatic impact on local agricultural scene
Cashing in on global warming
Warming: A rising tide
Tribe, La Conner on front lines
Green Power
Nuclear power unlikely alternative
Climate and You
What You Can Do
Why turn off the lights?
Skagit Warming: Tell us what you think
* Staff writer August Kryger contributed to this story.
* Assistant City Editor Colette Weeks can be reached at 360-416-2132 or .
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