A new interactive climate map shows the habitat of 540 U.S. and Canadian cities in 2080 by matching their climate then with that of the current climate of other cities. Just a few cities are fortunate to maintain a relatively stable climate, but the average U.S. urban area should expect the hotter and drier environment of a city more than 500 miles farther to the south.
That’s if there is no action to reduce greenhouse gases released to the atmosphere by the use of fossil fuels. Oregon State University climate scientist Kathie Dello doesn’t like what it shows for her region. Portland’s usual mild climate will become more like that of California’s hot central valley by the late-21st century.
In Gov. Inslee’s State of the State address, he calls for carbon-free electricity by 2045, a clean fuel standard and for the Legislature to expedite clean energy efforts. According to the map’s authors, if the world “cuts back” with actions of this sort, the cities’ climates “move” on average 319 miles. Thus cutting back is preferred, but it needs to be the world, including the state of Washington and the whole U.S. doing it.
A national carbon fee and dividend program has support over the broad political spectrum and among economists. It is favored as a market-based mechanism where coal, oil and gas become less competitive compared to emerging renewable energy sources. The plan’s dividend feature also protects consumers from the temporarily escalated costs associated with the transition to clean energy.
Greg Smith
Bothell
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