Drafter
Clerk 02/23/2012
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AN ORDINANCE requiring the King County executive to develop a strategic climate action plan by June 29, 2012; amending Ordinance 17166, Section 2, and K.C.C. 18.50.010 and adding a new chapter to K.C.C. Title 18.
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PREAMBLE:
There is consensus among the world's leading scientists, including the National Academies and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, that human sources of climate pollution such as carbon dioxide and methane are causing unprecedented and severe changes in global and local climate systems, and the related impacts are among the most significant environmental challenges facing the world. Climate scientists at the University of Washington report that significant changes to the Pacific Northwest climate are causing environmental changes including decreasing mountain snowpack and increasing flooding, and are negatively impacting infrastructure, forests, salmon, human health and Puget Sound. Climate change is causing increased stress and changes in distribution of plant and animal species due to vegetation range shifts, streamflow changes, invasive species invasions and increased freshwater and marine water temperatures.
Climate change can impact King County residents through increased flooding, heavier rains and dramatic shifts in weather patterns that damage infrastructure and roads, disrupt economic activity and agricultural production and threaten public safety. Given the interdependence of global economy, effects of climate change, such as impacts to the food supply, in other parts of the country or world can also affect King County residents. Climate change is also projected to have public health impacts as well. A 2009 report by the Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington report that climate change can result in the following public health impacts: heat related illnesses, respiratory disease due to worsening air quality, injuries due to severe weather events, and infectious disea...

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