A Spokane City Council citizens committee studying climate change has developed a survey for city residents. The results are expected to be used to help the city update its Sustainability and Climate Action Plan.
The city council created the Sustainability Action Subcommittee last year as a study group to explore how the city can adjust to the effects of climate change. Kara Odegard is the council’s sustainability research analyst. She says the 14-question survey asks about people’s knowledge and feelings about climate change.
“What it might mean for them if our temperatures change or increase in the Spokane region and to really get a sense for if they find any of the other impacts such as smoke from wildfires might impact their way of life in Spokane," Odegard said.
The subcommittee has eight work groups, exploring issues from transportation to the built environment. Council President Breean Beggs says the city will use the ideas generated in the citizens’ group as it updates the city’s sustainability plan, adopted in 2009.
“We know from the science that we’re going to have less snowpack and the river’s going to run out of water quicker. We’re going to have more wildfires. How does that impact us? And then, what can we do as a city to ameliorate that, to the degree that we can do that, and also help the entire state and nation on that as well," Beggs said.
Spokane residents can fill out the survey between now and March 20. The subcommittee hopes to have results for the city council by sometime in April.