Izzie Lund reports:
Island County became the second county in Washington to pass a climate change resolution.
The Island County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the measure on Sept. 6 following concerns from the youth climate coalition United Student Leaders of Whidbey Island.
They Said It
“It’s basically a resolution as a board, unanimously adopted in order to build climate resiliency in the county and address climate change through mitigation,” District 3 commissioner Janet St. Clair said. “So, addressing (everything from) sea level rise to energy utilization. That sets the stage of how we can integrate that lens into climate resiliency.”
St. Clair said the push for the resolution started when the county finished updating its greenhouse gas emissions study in 2021, which was complete with recommendations on reducing emissions and becoming more energy efficient. The United Student Leaders banned together and petitioned for the resolution and a declaration of emergency.
“(Recommendations) included everything from looking at grants to install charging stations to internal operations so we can become more energy efficient,” St. Clair said. “There are ways in which we can boost climate resiliency by looking at our land use and zoning and promoting incentives to be more responsive to sea level rise. Those are just some of the examples.”
There was no formal declaration of emergency and there is no official plans yet, St. Clair said, but the resolution helps build that plan, provide a framework and connects work already done with new work in the future.
“We will address the climate change crisis and begin to build resiliency in Island County,” St. Clair said. “I’m excited.”
On The Ballot in November 2022
| County Commissioner, District 3 Tim Hazelo (R-Oak Harbor) Janet St. Clair (D-Camano Island), the incumbent |
