2005 King County Climate Change Conference
The Future Ain't What it Used to Be

On October 27, 2005, King County and its conference partners engaged a broad cross-section of Washington State governments, businesses, tribes, farmers, non-profits, and the community-at-large in a dialogue about climate change impacts and potential adaptations. With over 650 in attendance and follow-up activities underway, the conference goals were achieved. Now the focus is on state-wide preparedness planning for climate change impacts.

King County is responding to climate change as a high priority, developing strategies to reduce and adapt to global warming in each of these areas:

• Land use - combating sprawl and building healthier communities.
• Public transportation - getting more people onto leaner, greener busses.
• Innovative environmental management - turning waste into energy.
• Developing a clean energy future - stimulating climate-friendly building, fuel and technology markets for a prosperous, sustainable economy.

Conference results - presentations, reports and plans:

• Conference final agenda (Acrobat format)
• Welcome speech and podium notes by Ron Sims, King County Executive and Conference Host
• Keynote speech: Can We Define -- Let Alone Solve -- Dangerous Climate Change by Dr. Stephen Schneider
• Plenary Session Presentations
• Summary of plenary sessions at 2005 conference  (Acrobat format)
• Speaker presentations and biographies
• Conference sponsors

Conference background materials:

• Climate Change Primer (Acrobat format)
  Overview of global and regional climate change; how scientists project future climates and their impact on resources in Washington State and the Pacific Northwest; climate impacts science questions and answers, and policy questions for global, national and regional levels.
• Climate Impacts White Paper (external link)
  Most recent climate impacts data as of October, 2005, with 2006 updates from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
• Sector Impact Summaries and Adaptation Strategies (external link)
  Potential affects of climate change and adaptive strategies and case studies by sector, covering hydropower, water supply, agriculture, fish, forestry, and coastal lands.

Detailed reports from the 2005 conference:

• Summary of Plenary Sessions at 2005 conference  (Acrobat format)
• Agriculture
• Coastal Areas
• Fish/Shellfish
• Flooding / Stormwater / Wastewater
• Forestry
• Hydropower
• Municipal Water Supply

Related activities:

• Vulnerability of Major Wastewater Facilities to Flooding from Sea-Level Rise (Acrobat format 385KB)

  • Download GIS tool to replicate Vulnerable Facilities Assessment (Compressed zip file 71KB)
    Compatible with ESRI's ArcGIS 9.2 and 9.3.
• Do-it-yourself home energy audit
  A step-by-step guide for identifying and improving your home's energy efficiency. (Acrobat format)
• Climate Protection Performance Measures
• 2007 Clean Vehicles Now! Conference
• 2007 King County Energy Plan (280 Kb Acrobat document)
• 2007 King County Climate Plan
• 2007 Preparing for Climate Change guidebook

For questions about the 2005 King County Climate Change Conference in Seattle, Washington, please contact Elizabeth Willmott, Climate Change Program Coordinator.