Report card: Washington still has work to do ahead of global warming
Oct 19, 2015, 6:18 AM | Updated: 8:56 am
An airplane tanker flies through smoky air above a home as it drops fire retardant on a wildfire that flared up in August. University of Washington climatologist Cliff Mass says the state handled the summer well, but there are areas of improvement, including better forest management. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Washingtonians have some more studying to do before they’re ready for more permanent climate change.
With warmer than normal temperatures, low snowpack and water levels, and slightly less rain, Washington experienced a climate this summer that is going to be typical in the next 60 to 70 years.
So how did Washingtonians handle it? University of Washington climatologist Cliff Mass says good, but not great.
Related: Seattle summer could be dress rehearsal for global warming
If he were to grade the region on major areas, the water supplies for urban populations and energy supplies would receive an A-minus. Agricultural productivity and robustness receives a “B,” according to Mass. That’s where the decent grades end. Mass grades the state’s air quality a “C.” It gets a D-minus for wildfires and forests.
The state’s overall grade is a B-minus.
Mass grades Washington’s wildfire season so low because of how quickly things got out of control. The state went from a lower than normal season to one of the worst, with more than 1 million acres burned, multiple people killed and hundreds of buildings destroyed, the fire season “showed this region was not well prepared for a warm summer,” Mass says. Mass places most of the blame on forest management practices, which includes practicing inappropriate “European” practices, such as suppressing fires and allowing dense forest to grow where it was once didn’t. Mass says forests need to be thinned and controlled burns initiated to bring them back to their natural state.
The average grade on air quality can be blamed on the wildfires, Mass explains. Several weeks of heavy smoke caused air pollution to spike.
Despite the areas which need improvement, Mass says if more planning is done and the necessary investments are made, the state can be ready for a warmer climate in the latter part of the century.
But testing isn’t done yet. Exactly how the state handles a winter that includes heavier-than-usual rain will be something to watch.
