During the Natural Resources Committee meeting Friday, September 27th, Eileen Canola of the Snohomish County Planning and Development Department (SCPD) introduced Jesse Langdon, their GIS (mapping systems) Analyst to detail the workings of their new Climate Vulnerability Tool website. This presentation will soon be available on the League’s YouTube website with image clarity from this wonderful PowerPoint, put together especially for our League.
This type of tool is not required by Washington State legislature before 2029, but the SCPD proactively designed this one to be ready for the Comprehensive Plan Update of 2024. A story map at the beginning acquaints the viewer with many of its elements and provides a list of links to County resources. Each of the elements can be gone into with more extensive detail. Key to the map is that the County is divided into Census Blocks. These encompass data for population, income, education, household size, housing, sea rise, tree canopy, and more. From that, three major climate effects are overlaid: Adaptive Capacity Gap, Sensitivity, and Exposure. Some of the factors considered under Exposure include extreme heat, wildfires and intense storms. For example, rural areas may often get a high score as they are more vulnerable to wildfires. Sensitivity derives information from the CDC and includes the percentage of population in the Census Block with asthma. Adaptive Capacity Gap may indicate how many in the Census Block own cars and how many are close to public transportation. Each Census Block can then be tabulated with a CVS score. The overall Climate Vulnerability Score (CVS) for the County is 42.
You can find the story map and access the CVT
here.
Some of the League Committee’s questions revolved around the data upkeep for such a data rich tool, (i.e. member Val Rosman noted that sea level rise data was not current), how to make this tool easily understood and available to policy makers, and what next steps/resources can be encouraged for positive change for facing climate change from this information.
Reports followed:
Tree Canopy/Legacy Forests Committee – Carol McMahon shared that the letter from the County Council asking for greater protections for legacy/mature forests in the County received a mild reception at the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. She senses that all await the November election. She asked us all to note Kate’s invitations to various tree planting parties for fall and also for the October field trip to a mature forest in Darrington, sponsored by the Sierra Club.
Edmonds Marsh Advocates, Edmonds Alliance for Environment – Marjie Fields sent a written report, but Val Rosman and Sally Lider gave in person accounts of what was a lengthy meeting with Chevron and the Department of Ecology. The degree of repair required hinges on how the stormwater pipe and land adjacent will be used. Important note is that comments MUST be in writing!
Sierra Club – Nancy Johnson sent a written report. More canvassers and phone bankers are needed to promote the NO on 2117 campaign. Register at: https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/672588/. Kicking Gas received a Climate Commitment Act grant to help electrify even more homes.
Transportation: Steve Trautwein sent a written report. He listed light rail extensions from Northgate. He said that three shipbuilders have bid on the first five hybrid ferries. He also shared several Seattle Times articles on opposition to battery storage and an ammonia powered fishing boat. He detailed the budget for electrification and zero emission vehicles in state budget proposals.
Joan closed the meeting by thanking attendees for providing the important audience for our guest speakers. She mentioned adding
Crow Talk by Eileen Garvin and
The Tree Collectors by Amy Stewart to your bookshelves.
NEXT MEETING: October 25TH, 10 A.M. - 12 P.M. by Zoom. Guest speakers will be Wendy Ferry and Patrice Newkirk of Pollinator Pathways NW. Join us to learn about coordinating efforts to preserve the well-being of struggling pollinators!