Sea level rise is real

Thank you for The Olympian’s article on sea level rise and its effects locally. This and many other impacts of climate change stand to drastically alter life in the South Sound region over the coming years.

We are fortunate to have a visionary city council that has signed, with 7,000 other municipalities, the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy. It involves a commitment to reduce city-wide greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. The climate action plan now in the early stages of development will be the road map for how to get to this goal, and the process provides ample opportunity for citizens to be involved in the plan’s crafting and implementation.

In an era when the federal government has relinquished nearly all leadership and responsibility for the climate crisis it is imperative that the rest of us - in cities, towns and countryside- take up the call to lower carbon emissions before it’s too late.

This story was originally published July 11, 2017 at 5:39 PM with the headline "Sea level rise is real."