Sims to address global climate change

PULLMAN – King County Executive Ron Sims will speak on “Regional Solutions to Global Climate Change” at a lecture scheduled at 3:10 p.m. Nov. 16 in Food Science and Human Nutrition, T-101(above Ferdinand’s) on the WSU campus. A reception following the presentation will be held in the Ensminger Pavilion (across from the Alumni Centre).

As executive, Sims oversees the 14th largest county in the nation. With a population of 1.8 million, King County is home to about 30 percent of Washington’s population and accounts for more than 40 percent of the state’s jobs.

Sims has led efforts to protect more than 100,000 acres of green space in King County since 1997 and increased the county’s trails to 175 miles, one of the premiere trail systems in the nation. He recently led the effort to secure the 42 mile Eastside rail corridor that the BNSF railroad is no longer using for more trails and a possible future transit corridor. The purchase is the largest of its kind under the federal rails-to-trails program.

His climate plan, which is aimed at reducing and adapting to the effects of global warming, is lauded as one of the most comprehensive in the nation. The plan, created by a multi-disciplinary team of county staff, calls for cleaner cars and fewer cars as the solution for reducing automobile emissions, which account for more than half the greenhouse gas emissions in the King County region.

Sims has recently released the guidebook “Preparing for Climate Change: A Guidebook for Local, Regional and State Governments,” co-authored by the Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington; Sims, who also conceived the book; and King County’s climate team. The guidebook is being distributed nationally to more than 250 U.S. cities, towns and counties.

In May of 2007, Sims, along with actor and environmentalist Robert Redford, was among six individuals given the Climate Protection Award from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Sims’ lecture is sponsored by the Center for Environmental Research, Education, and Outreach (CEREO). The presentation will be available via video stream at http://eces.wsu.edu/video/stream.html. There will be an opportunity to ask questions live either from the studio audience in the Food Science and Human Nutrition Building, room T-101, through email (broadcast@wsu.edu), or by calling the toll-free phone number 800-390-7551.

For more information, visit www.cereo.wsu.edu.

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