King County Climate Report
This is the 2nd annual report prepared by King County, WA to track their progress towards the implementation of the county’s climate plan passed in 2007. The plan’s overall goal is to collaborate with other local governments to reduce greenhouse has emissions in the region to 80% below 2007 levels by 2050. The report is broken into sections describing progress towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions as well as progress towards anticipating and adapting to projected climate change impacts.
The first section of the report looks at climate change mitigation efforts, and describes activities in the following areas:
- Greenhouse gas accountability and limits
- Climate friendly transportation choices
- Land-use, building design, efficiency and materials management
- Energy conservation, efficiency, clean energy and clean fuels
- Equitable green economic development
- Carbon sequestration
The second section of the report looks at climate change adaptation efforts, and describes activities in the following areas:
- Climate science
- Public health, safety, emergency preparedness and economic impacts
- Surface water management, freshwater quality and water supply
- Land-use, buildings and transportation infrastructure
- Biodiversity and ecosystems
The particular value of this report lies in the framework it provides for looking at the efforts of a local government in addressing climate change.
A basic unit of nature that includes a community of biological organisms and their nonliving environment linked by biological, chemical, and physical processes.The variety of life in all forms, levels, and combinations, including ecosystem diversity, species diversity, and genetic diversity.Reduction in, or elimination of, the use of natural and other energy resources. Also includes installations or modifications of equipment or systems intended to reduce energy use and costs.A term used for significant changes over an extended period of time in the Earth's natural environments. Climate change can be produced by natural processes (e.g. changes in the Earth's orbit) or by the impact of human behavior (e.g. deforestation). See GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE.Greenhouse gases are a part of the Earth's atmosphere and are both naturally occurring and the result of human chemical processes. The most common greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, and chlorofluourocarbons. These gases trap heat and thus contribute to the warming of the planet. See also CFCS and GREENHOUSE EFFECT.The ability or potential of a physical body to do work. The most common forms of energy are heat, light, mechanical (moving parts), and electrical.
