Abstract
King County, Washington, is a North American leader in the development and implementation of climate change adaptation strategies. This chapter describes the early experiences of King County in developing and implementing a climate change adaptation program under the leadership of King County Executive Ron Sims, during the years 2005–2009. Basic review of the King County example suggests that the county can serve as a useful model for other governments in launching and maintaining a successful climate change adaptation program. The King County experience also provides insights about types of external support a local government would need when establishing such a program.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Casola JH, Kay JE, Snover AK et al (2005) Climate impacts on Washington’s hydropower, water supply, forests, fish, and agriculture. University of Washington, Seattle. http://cses.washington.edu/db/pdf/kc05whitepaper459.pdf. Cited 10 Oct 2008
Center for Clean Air Policy (2009) Urban leaders adaptation initiative: building resiliency to climate change impacts through community action. http://www.ccap.org/index.php?component=programs&id=6. Cited 10 Oct 2008
ECONorthwest (2007) Economic connections between the King County floodplains and the Greater King County economy. Prepared for King County Water and Land Resources Division, King County Government, Seattle. http://www.metrokc.gov/dnrp/wlr/flood/flood-control-zone-district/pdf/floodplain-economic-connections.pdf. Cited 10 Oct 2008
Hunt A, Watkiss P (2007) The economics of climate change impacts and policy benefits at city scale: a conceptual framework. OECD, Paris
King County Government (2007) 2007 King County climate plan. http://www.metrokc.gov/exec/news/2007/pdf/ClimatePlan.pdf. Cited 10 Oct 2008
King County Wastewater Treatment Division (2008) Vulnerability of major wastewater facilities to flooding from sea-level rise. King County Governemnt, Seattle. http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wtd/csi/csi-docs/0807_SLR_VF_TM.pdf. Cited 4 Dec 2008
Mantua NJ, Tohver I, Hamlet AF (2009) Chapter 6: Impacts of climate change on key aspects of freshwater salmon habitat in Washington State. In: The Washington Climate Change Impacts Assessment: Evaluating Washington’s Future in a Changing Climate, Climate Impacts Group, University of Washington, Seattle
Mote PW, Hamlet AF, Clark M et al (2005) Declining mountain snowpack in western North America. Bull Am Meteorol Soc 86(1):39–49
Mote PW, Petersen A, Reeder S et al (2008) Sea level rise in the coastal waters of Washington State. University of Washington Climate Impacts Group and the Washington Department of Ecology, Lacey. http://cses.washington.edu/db/pdf/moteetalslr579.pdf. Cited 4 Dec 2008
NOAA Climate Program Office (2009) Climate Program Office website. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA], United States Department of Commerce. http://www.climate.noaa.gov/cpo_pa/risa/. Cited 10 Apr 2009
Palmer RN, Wiley MW, Polebitski A et al (2006) Climate change building blocks: a report prepared by the Climate Change Technical Subcommittee of the Regional Water Supply Planning Process, Seattle. http://cses.washington.edu/db/pdf/palmeretalbuilding546.pdf. Cited 4 Dec 2008
Penney J, Wieditz I (2007) Cities preparing for climate change: a study of six urban regions. Clean Air Partnership, Toronto
Pielke R Jr, Prins G, Rayner S et al (2007) Climate change 2007: lifting the taboo on adaptation. Nature 445:597–598
Schulte B (2006) Temperature rising. US News and World Report. 140(21):36–40. http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/060605/5warming.htm. Cited 12 Dec 2008
Seattle Times (1988) Hot air glut – county doesn’t need a ‘greenhouse office. Seattle Times (7 Sep 1988), p. A-8. Washington State Newsstand database. (Document ID: 52417049). Cited 9 Apr 2009
Snover AK, Whitely Binder L, Lopez J et al (2007) Preparing for climate change: a guidebook for local, regional, and state governments. International Council for Local Environmental Intitiatives [ICLEI] – Local Governments for Sustainability, Oakland
Swope C (2007) Local warming: it’s too late to stop climate change – what we can do is plan for it. Governing Magazine. http://www.governing.com/articles/0712warm.htm. Cited 12 Aug 2008
The Heinz Center (2007) A survey of climate change adaptation planning. http://www.heinzctr.org/publications/PDF/Adaptation_Report_October_10_2007.pdf. Cited 12 Aug 2008
US Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] (2007) 2007 Climate award winners. http://www.epa.gov/cppd/awards/2007winners.html. Cited 20 Nov 2008
US Government Accountability Office [GAO] (2009) Strategic federal planning could help Government officials make more informed decisions. http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d10113.pdf. Cited 19 Sept 2010
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Willmott, E., Penney, J. (2011). Asking the Climate Question: Climate Change Adaptation in King County, Washington. In: Ford, J., Berrang-Ford, L. (eds) Climate Change Adaptation in Developed Nations. Advances in Global Change Research, vol 42. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0567-8_24
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0567-8_24
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-0566-1
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-0567-8
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)