Why worry about global climate change?
Washington State is addressing climate change because its impacts go far beyond a change in the weather. Climate shapes everything — ecosystems, crops, water, forests, fisheries, economy, lifestyles, health — so even small changes can have big impacts. A few degrees in temperature may not feel like much, but it can make the difference between rain and snow, early snowmelt or late, flowing summer streams or dry creek beds, healthy or charred forests, and extreme weather floods, droughts or summer heat waves. Our state is vulnerable to a warming climate, especially our snow-fed water supplies and nearly 40 communities along our 2,300 miles of shoreline that are threatened by rising sea levels. In the past 10 years we’ve seen an increase in floods, droughts and wildfires. (See Issue Up Close: Facing the challenge of Climate Change and Frequently Asked Questions – Climate Change.
