"The Future Ain't What It Used to Be" - Planning for Climate Disruption
October 27, 2005
7:30 am - 5:00 pm
Qwest Events Field Center
Updated 2.17.06 (what's new)
King County, Washington, sponsored a major conference on October 27, 2005 on planning for climate change. Conference
objectives included understanding the degree of climate change predicted in 20, 50, and 100 years in Washington State;
identifying resource and information needs for impacted sectors; and identifying approaches for improving
sector-specific plans to adapt to climate change including risk assessment and response. More detailed
information on the conference is available on the King County conference web site.
Examples of media coverage of the conference are available here.
The Climate Impacts Group (CIG) was commissioned by King County to develop a diverse range of materials to support
the conference, including new climate change scenarios for the Pacific Northwest. The following documents associated
with the conference are available for download:
All documents are in PDF format. Information on the CIG's listserve is also available here.
All presentations from the conference are posted on the King County
conference web site.
The CIG's plenary session presentations are provided below.
A transcript of King County Executive Ron Sims's opening remarks is also available.
2.17.06 - See presentation
by Dr. Amy Snover highlighting results of the conference breakout sessions. The presentation was given on February 16, 2006
at the UW Water Center's Annual Research Review.
Washington Climate Impacts White Paper
This white paper details the impacts of old and new climate change scenarios on Washington State hydropower, water supply, flood and stormwater management, forests, fish, and agriculture. Additional technical documentation on the new climate change scenarios described in the White Paper is available here.
Sector Fact Sheets
One-page handouts for each sector summarizing projected climate change impacts and potential strategies for preparing for these impacts.
Download individual sector handouts:
Climate Change Primers
Several one-page primers on global and regional climate change, climate change policy, and regional climate impacts science were developed for the conference.
Download individual primers:
The following information was provided as supplemental material for the October 27 climate change conference. These materials were not required for the conference.
New Climate Change Scenarios
The following papers, referenced in the White Paper, provide additional technical information on the 2005 climate change scenarios and implications for previous hydrologic studies.
Climate Impacts on Forests
Review a series of fact sheets on climate impacts on forests. The fact sheets were developed by the Climate Impacts Groups and the University of Washington's College of Forest Resources.
Individual climate/forest fact sheets
CIG List Serve
Updates on climate research findings, meetings, and other information related to planning for climate variability and change in the Pacific Northwest are available through the CIG's list serve. To subscribe, please visit the CIG's "climateupdate" listserve home page.