Rising waters need everybody’s help

Published 11:05 am Thursday, January 31, 2008

Six inches.

Say it simply and it doesn’t sound like much.

Half a foot? Bah. It’s hardly anything.

So what if water levels in Puget Sound rise by six inches before 2050, as a new study released Jan. 17 by the Pacific Northwest Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington and the Washington State Department of Ecology indicates.

You could barely hide a bagel in six inches of water. How bad could it be?

Bad.

Storm damage increases, experts say. Habitat loss is considerable. Erosion problems become serious.

December’s flooding in Edmonds turned the city’s waterfront into a mini-lake, as the worst of the rainfall was accompanied by high tide in the Sound. Raise water levels by six inches, and high tides become serious problems with much less rainfall than the recent rainstorms.

Global warming’s creep up Puget Sound’s shoreline won’t stop in 2050, either. Sea rise would be worse if Puget Sound’s shorelines weren’t themselves rising, the result of uplift from plate tectonics, the UW study said.

Still, rising waters will swamp half of existing Puget Sound estuary beaches if, as a July 2007 study by the National Wildlife Federation posits, sea levels rise by 2 feet before 2100.

The group said such changes would affect everything from harbor seals and seabirds to wild shellfish such as butter clams and Olympia oysters, the Seattle Times reported at the time.

The oysters aren’t the only trouble near Olympia. Earlier this month, Olympia’s politicians seriously debated moving a planned $38 million City Hall from the city’s downtown waterfront to higher ground. In the end, the city decided to risk it.

But debates like that are not premature.

Other debates need to take place.

While global warming is a global issue, both individuals and local governments can and should to more to help. It is expensive for governments, but it is necessary.

The greening of South Snohomish County and North King County is happening.

Lake Forest Park recently won recognition for its efforts to promote community backyard habitats.

Shoreline is pushing for backyard habitats, but is also considering density incentives for developers who build green.

Edmonds continues to pursue an electric vehicle plug-in station, which would be Snohomish County’s first such station.

Mill Creek’s community development director Bill Trimm speaks with passion on low-impact development and green building.

Next door, officials in Lynnwood are pushing for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards for public buildings, both new and remodeled. Councilman Mark Smith in particular is trying to ensure that the city’s planned recreational center be as green as possible.

Obviously, efforts like these — and more — are under way. But more can be done.

After all, this is a global problem that is only going to get worse. India’s Tata Motors recently unveiled plans for its $2,500 car. Millions will likely be sold in coming years, experts say.

Incremental change can be frustrating. It is easy to suggest that because small cities cannot solve global problems — and there is no doubt that they cannot — nothing should be done. But that is crazy.

It was Ghandi, after all, who said what seems most relevant now: “We need to be the change we wish to see in the world.” That’s us, people. That’s you, governments.

Six inches of Puget Sound sea water say it is necessary.