Re: “From record high temperatures to bitter cold days, Western Washington’s year of extreme weather” [Dec. 31, Local News]:
With all the wild weather we had last year (heat dome, wettest autumn, etc.), I was interested to see The Seattle Times interview three meteorologists to confirm what I expected — climate change is indeed contributing to our year of extreme local weather.
In 2013, the city council formulated the Seattle Climate Action Plan to not only make our city carbon neutral by 2050 but also to reduce passenger transportation emissions (the largest segment) by 80% by 2030. So how are we doing? Well, the city’s website, using the most recent statistics, shows a slight rise in our carbon emissions between 2014 and 2016!
Our leaders seem loath to enact the necessary bold measures, which might hurt them politically. So perhaps it is time to consider a Citizens Climate Assembly. The assembly would be a small group of randomly-selected residents who meet on a regular basis and consult with experts to hammer out solid climate-related proposals. France and even Washington state have already used citizen assemblies, with some success.
We badly need new ideas and a push from the citizenry if we are to leave a livable future for our children.
Colin Wright, Seattle