Triple-digit temperatures along the Salish Sea this summer should make it clear that the climate crisis is real. 

Cascadia is a "green" region well known for generations of feel-good environmentalism. But now it needs policies to help solve the climate crisis by incentivizing decarbonization of our economy, a shift that is in our self-interest and a moral imperative.

I'll admit that I previously considered climate an ambiguous, distant problem. I've made the case that Seattle and Cascadia — among the richest places in the world — should be a model for how to develop a sustainable, equitable economy. But the problem is actually more urgent, and working for solutions could be a significant boon to our economy. 

How does the crisis concretely affect us? A record heatwave killed many vulnerable residents and even erased a British Columbia town. Mt. Rainier's snowcap melted more than ever. Shellfish were cooked in water along the coast. Heat and drought are altering our food supply. Wildfires are so bad they're changing the weather.

In his latest book, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, Bill Gates provides a surprisingly clear overview of the global challenge and argues that we need to get to net zero carbon use globally by 2050. New technology will be developed to do this, but the "green premium," or extra cost of low-carbon options, needs to shrink for the technology to be adopted. A summary of the book is available here. (As a technologist he has blind spots; see this review, for example.)

What to do about it

One thing B.C., Washington, and Oregon should do is aggressively price carbon to make clean alternatives viable. B.C. started in 2008 but Oregon has failed to follow. This year Washington finally passed a plan, though it was linked to highway expansion.

Cities should create density so there's less need to drive (vehicles are the biggest culprit of greenhouse gas emissions in Seattle), electrify their fleets, and improve building codes. Voters should ask every candidate exactly what they will do to take dramatic action on this issue.

Companies also should lead on this issue and push government to create better policy. Many companies incentivize transit and biking. But Microsoft is currently building an underground parking garage big enough to hold 8,000 school buses — the exact opposite of what Bill Gates calls for in his book. Rather than greenwashing, Microsoft should get the city of Redmond to relax parking requirements and encourage vastly more housing near its offices.

Longer term, the technology to help the world decarbonize needs to be developed and honed. If Cascadia sets the right incentives, that work could happen here. The world will add the equivalent of one New York City's worth of built environment every month through 2060, Gates says, so there's massive demand for new clean technology.

The next mayor of Seattle should meet with Gates and create a concrete plan of how the city can encourage more innovate clean technology companies here. Accelerate transit, overhaul zoning to allow more density, and make this a top priority. Serving this huge market could result in the next Boeing.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma is playing out now in Congress over the latest package of farm subsidies.

In an excellent op-ed in the New York Times, the author of that book makes a clear case against current agricultural policy. And then he turns the tables:

How could this have happened? For starters, farm bill critics did a far better job demonizing subsidies, and depicting commodity farmers as welfare queens, than they did proposing alternative — and politically appealing — forms of farm support. And then the farm lobby did what it has always done: bought off its critics with “programs.” For that reason “Americans who eat” can expect some nutritious crumbs from the farm bill, just enough to ensure that reform-minded legislators will hold their noses and support it.

Cascadia Report has found farm subsidies to be an easy target, for example here and here and here. We’re waiting for some good policy to praise.