PORT ANGELES — Clallam County commissioners have approved a work plan to adapt to potential impacts of climate change.
After hearing testimony from a split group of public speakers Tuesday, county commissioners voted 3-0 to pass a resolution directing six county departments to consider impacts and strategies contained in a North Olympic Peninsula Resources Conservation and Development Council report on climate change.
“The point of this resolution is to try and give our county staff some tools to try and plan for the future,” Commissioner Mark Ozias said.
“Flooding is an excellent example. One of the most immediate likely effects of global climate change has to do with flooding in and around the city of Port Angeles, downtown, Ediz Hook, other places.
“We don’t know exactly what’s going to happen,” Ozias added.
“We can’t say that in 50 years, this is what the situation is going to look like, but we are attempting to use the best tools that we have now to understand what that future might look like and plan for it.”
Nine speakers expressed support for the resolution in an hourlong public comment period that preceded the board vote.
Nine others raised concerns ranging from carbon taxation, the science behind climate change and a 1992 United Nations global action plan for sustainability called Agenda 21.
“The idea of climate change has been so discredited in the true scientific community that the advocates of this idea have become nearly hysterical in their attempts to enforce climate change,” said Gary Dekorte of Sequim, a self-described “climate change denier.”
“There’s a group of people who would treat climate change as if it’s absolute fact,” he said.
“Rather, it’s an unproven and very controversial theory.”
Bob Lynette of Sequim countered that glaciers and snowpacks are clearly “melting all over the world today.”
“You know, the Earth isn’t flat,” Lynette said.
“The Holocaust really did happen.
“It boggles my mind to hear people still, in the face of all the evidence, arguing against this,” Lynette added.
“The purpose of this resolution is to save taxpayers money and to save investors money by not doing the wrong things in the wrong places at the wrong time.”
Two other speakers did not take a position on the resolution.
The one-page document directs the county departments of Health and Human Services; Public Works; Parks, Fair and Facilities; and Washington State University Extension to consider the council’s Climate Change Preparedness Plan for the North Olympic Peninsula when proposing budgets and work plans for 2017.
It also encourages the Department of Community Development and the Emergency Management Division of the sheriff’s office to include projected climate change impacts and adaptation strategies in 2017 budgets and long-term planning efforts.
Coleman Byrnes of Joyce presented a letter supporting the resolution on behalf of the Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society.
“I don’t know what to say to people who deny [climate change],” Byrnes said.
“Scientific evidence proves it is. So I commend any effort to try to deal with the problem.
“And it will be a problem if sea levels rise and the climate dries out and we have more forest fires and less food production.”
Brad Buchser of Sequim said climate change is no excuse for local leaders to impose restrictive laws on citizens.
“Warming doesn’t stop life,” Buchser said. “It increases life. Freezing is what stops life.
“If there’s climate change going towards warming, it’s good for us,” he continued.
“I loved the last two summers here,” said Buchser, slamming his hand on the podium for emphasis.
Bob Sextro of Sequim presented a letter supporting the resolution on behalf of North Olympic Group of the Sierra Club.
“We believe that climate change and its resulting impacts are of prime concern, and that all level of governments — state, local and federal — should be taking appropriate action with regard to the projected impact of climate change,” Sextro said.
Commissioner Bill Peach, a Forks Republican who has been reading up on climate change, said the science is “not settled.”
“You can find arguments on both sides of the issue,” Peach said.
Peach said he would support the work plan because it is “action-oriented” and addresses “immediate threats” such as sea level rise.
As the timber county representative on the state Board of Natural Resources, Peach said he was surprised to learn that the second-highest source of carbon dioxide emissions in 2015 was forest fires.
“If you believe that carbon dioxide is an issue that you want to engage, I highly encourage us to look at forest management,” Peach said.
“I think it’s a significant opportunity for us.”
Peach repeated that he would not support tax increases.
“Although this [work plan] may be perceived as an effort for a carbon tax, that’s not how I perceive it,” he said.
“Should that morph, should the direction that this work in the future [lead] to a carbon tax, you can count on my opposition.”
Ozias, a Sequim Democrat, said he was “very surprised” that climate change was a significant issue in his 2015 campaign.
“I never would have anticipated that it would have been an issue at all,” he said.
“Seeing the turnout here today enforces that this is something that people in Clallam County care very much about.”
To view the Climate Change Preparedness Plan for the North Olympic Peninsula, go to www.tinyurl.com/PDN-climatechangereport.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
