Former Mayor Greg Nickels, Seattle, WA
- Location: WA 98214
- Marching Since: October 27, 2005
In Seattle, we are already seeing the effects of climate change. Our average annual Cascade mountain snowpack, which is the source of Seattle’s hydroelectric system and water supply, is already 30 percent less than it was at the end of World War II. It’s obvious we can’t ignore this problem any longer. On February 16, 2005, the day the international Kyoto Protocol took effect, I issued the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement and urged other mayors to join me. With climate disruption stories of their own to tell, Republican and Democratic mayors from red and blue states, the coasts and heartland cities, signed on. Since then, 425 mayors – representing nearly 61 million Americans – have signed onto the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, and the US Conference of Mayors unanimously endorsed the Agreement. Locally and nationally, we cannot wait to see how bad it gets. We need to act now.
