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In 2007, debate about climate change turned from whether it existed to how to fix it. Seattle was uniquely positioned to lead this discussion, and the past year highlighted the City’s role both locally and nationally.

Back in 2005, as 141 nations ratified into the law the U.N.’s Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change, Mayor Nickels challenged his fellow mayors around the country to join the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement and pledge to meet or beat the Kyoto target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 7 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. The effort started slowly, but, in 2007, picked up remarkable momentum.To date, 786 mayors have signed the agreement, representing more than 78 million Americans in 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

In November 2007, Seattle hosted more than 100 mayors for the first-ever meeting Watch the Video of agreement signatories. Conference highlights included speeches by former President Bill Clinton, Nobel Prize winner Al Gore Watch the Video and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The summit was an extraordinary opportunity for leaders across the nation to share ideas, frustrations, and inspiration. As The Seattle Times editorialized: “Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels is entitled to bask in the solar-powered glory of the national Mayors Climate Protection Summit he is hosting. He is part of the reason city halls across America are thinking green.”

Seattle Climate Action Now

In September, the City launched Seattle Climate Action Now, Watch the Video a grassroots campaign to encourage residents, businesses and neighborhood groups to take steps to reduce climate pollution at home, at work and on the road. The Web site, seattleCAN.org, serves as a clearinghouse of information and hosts a Seattle-specific carbon calculator and action planner. The Seattle Climate Partnership, a City-organized pact among employers to reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions, continued to grow, boasting more than 50 members by the end of 2007.

Following the roadmap laid out in the 2006 Seattle Climate Action Plan, the City has invested in transportation alternatives, clean buildings, and energy conservation. In October, Mayor Nickels announced that the City was participating in a project to test the performance of 12 plug-in hybrid cars Watch the Video. More than 100 LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) energy-efficient buildings were in the works at the end of 2007, and, in December, Seattle debuted the South Lake Union Streetcar, linking hundreds of new jobs and condominiums in the Cascade neighborhood.

There will be no parade declaring victory over global warming. It will take the effort of every individual and the action of government at all levels, dedicated to listening to what science is telling us and making responsible decisions. So far, there is reason to be encouraged. In 2005, the year of a benchmark study, Seattle produced 8 percent less greenhouse gases than we did in 1990, the result of conservation and climate-friendly policies at City Light. “It is a success that we can all celebrate, but it is just the start of our work,” said Mayor Nickels. “To beat global warming, we must not only maintain this achievement but go a magnitude beyond these numbers. That’s why we need everyone’s help in taking action.”

In the years ahead, Seattle is poised to pass further milestones, making us cleaner, more efficient and more prosperous. Here are some highlights for 2007:

  • Reducing carbon emissions. For the third year in a row, City Light was net zero in CO2 emissions, the source of greenhouse gas that causes climate change. The amount of City Light’s reduction in carbon emissions is equal to removing 150,000 cars from our roads.
  • Saving energy & cutting emissions. The Seattle HomeWise Weatherization Program committed $2.4 million dollars to weatherize 547 Seattle low-income homes, saving 1.2 million kilowatt hours of electricity – enough to power 120 average Seattle households – and reducing the city’s carbon emissions by an estimated 744 metric tons for 2007.
  • Climate Action Now Fund launched. The Small and Simple Projects Fund launched a Climate Action Now Fund in July, and has awarded $90,000 for seven neighborhood projects, including Eat Local for Thanksgiving, Climate Dialogues, Northwest Climate Change Summit, Biodiesel In Your Neighborhood, West Seattle Walking Trails, Broadview Thompson Trip Reduction Plan, and Educational Resource Street Fair.
  • Watershed climate action grants. In 2007, the City awarded $96,000 in grants to community volunteer groups to remove invasive plants and plant trees. The trees serve two important functions: absorbing carbon dioxide, and filtering and slowing the flow of pollutants out of stormwater runoff.
  • Cutting-edge climate change science. Seattle hosted a workshop for more than 100 urban drainage professionals from around the world. Seattle is in the international vanguard of cities studying how to prepare for the affect of climate change in critical areas, such as water supply and urban flooding.
  • Low-flow showerheads. As part of Seattle’s Climate Action Plan, more than 100,000 water- and energy-efficient showerheads Watch the Video were given to households in 2007, saving 19 million kilowatt hours of electricity and 35 million pounds of greenhouses gases.
  • Electric mowers rebate program. More than 500 Seattle residents recycled their gas-powered lawnmowers as part of Seattle’s Mower Rebate Program Watch the Video, saving approximately 40,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
  • Reforesting Seattle. The City planted 681 street trees and pruned 2,520 street trees, helping to increase and protect Seattle’s tree canopy.
  • Protecting our waters. In 2007, Mayor Nickels’ “Restore Our Waters” Program issued a comprehensive State of the Waters report, setting the stage for the rehabilitation of Seattle’s major creeks, small lakes, and Puget Sound. The City partnered with residents and regional agencies by awarding more than $500,000 in Aquatic Habitat Matching Grants for 11 restoration projects in key urban watersheds throughout Seattle.
  • Salmon returning to Cedar River. More than a century after construction of a drinking water diversion dam made the upper Cedar River inaccessible to migrating fish, salmon are returning to colonize the river in substantial numbers. Scientists say the record numbers of salmon spawning in the upper Cedar River in the fall of 2007 can be attributed to conservation efforts of Seattle water customers.