Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival, Toni Droscher

As we hone our knowledge of global climate change, understanding the consequences on the local level becomes more crucial so that we may prepare and adapt. ~ Edward Miles Co-Director, Center for Science in the Earth System, Joint Institute for the Study of Atmosphere and Ocean University of Washington   

Fact: Climate change in Puget Sound is a reality.

The overwhelming majority of the global scientific community agree that greenhouse gases are heating up our planet. And temperatures in the Pacific Northwest are rising faster than the global average. Glaciers in the Cascades and the Olympics have retreated markedly since 1950. Puget Sound ’s waters are warming, and river and stream flows are changing.

No one can precisely predict the future of the Sound’s resources under changing climate conditions. But we can make some solid assumptions about what is likely to happen—and plan a course of action that takes climate change into consideration when adopting policies that affect Puget Sound.

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What’s being done about climate change in the Pacific Northwest?

Governor’s executive order. The State of Washington is taking climate change seriously. In February 2007, Gov. Chris Gregoire signed an executive order establishing goals for reductions in climate pollution, increases in jobs, and reductions in expenditures on imported fuel. Pacific Northwest climate change report. In 2005, the Puget Sound Partnership commissioned the first climate change study specific to the Pacific Northwest . Called “Uncertain Future: Climate Change and its Effects on Puget Sound," the report focuses on the consequences of a warmer climate on the larger Puget Sound ecosystem, including what the future might hold for snow pack, stream flow, water quality, precipitation patterns, air and water temperatures, and the plants and animals that call Puget Sound home. The report was prepared by the University of Washington Read the report

Climate change and the 2020 Action Agenda. The Partnership will consider climate change and its effects on the Puget Sound ecosystem as it puts together its long-term plan for Puget Sound recovery—the 2020 Action Agenda. Until the Action Agenda is adopted in September 2008, the Partnership is taking action on climate change in a number of ways. Read more in the current plan for Puget Sound the 2007-2009 Puget Sound Conservation and Recovery Plan. 

Washington Department of Ecology. The Washington Department of Ecology is taking a leading role in the state’s efforts to combat climate change. Visit Ecology’s Climate Change Web site to learn more.  

>> Learn more / get resources about Climate Change

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HIGHLIGHTS
New report from the Climate Impacts Group (09.11.07): "Preparing for Climate Change: A Guidebook for Local, Regional and State Governments"
>> Read online2005 report reveals climate change in Puget Sound is a 'force to be reckoned with'
University of Washington Climate Impacts Group
Get the latest information on climate change efforts
IN THE NEWS
The Pacific Northwest Climate CIGnal
Quarterly electronic newsletter from UW's Climate Impacts Group
Changing Earth from CNN.com