IATC Joins the Eastside Climate Action Challenge
IATC is joining people on the eastside and around the country by joining the Climate Action Challenge to reduce our individual household emissions of greenhouse gasses to protect the Alps from the effects of climate change.
if only
Last September I stood on the summit of Desolation Peak in the North Cascades and peered to the west, trying to see a distant mountainside that had recently burned. The park ranger stationed at the lookout next to where we stood said there were actually two scars on the land from fires that we could see. One fire was started by a lightening strike. A natural cause of fire which the Park Service only monitored and allowed to burn without intervention. As long as there was no threat to life or property, their policy was to let it burn. It was nature’s way.
The second fire was different. It was started by a careless or intentional person, I don’t remember which. But the Park Service was all over that one. They accepted the risks and fought to contain it with people and equipment. Why? Why let one burn and not the other? The ranger made it sound rather simple, and it is, really. Allow the natural process to run its course, but put all your might into fighting the unnatural, the human-caused disaster.
If the choice of what to do about climate change was as simple as choosing what to do about a forest fire, I probably wouldn’t be writing this article.
“Climate change will change habitats. Nothing works in isolation. If the climate changes then the forest changes, the plants change, the animals change.”
Of all the challenges IATC has taken on over the years to protect the land and wildlife of the Alps, there’s never been anything quite like climate change. Some of us may not live long enough to actually see or experience the long-term impact. And we don’t know if negative impacts will happen slowly, over many years, or more suddenly. Has it already started? This is a global matter, how can what I do locally have in impact locally? It might be difficult to answer these questions and others like it with certainty, but that’s not the point. Our mission is to preserve and protect the Alps for current and future generations. When I think of that phrase “and future generations”, I typically picture today’s forest as the future’s old-growth forest. One that my decedents will know without ever knowing it differently. And for this reason, and others, is why I have joined my colleagues at IATC in the Climate Action Challenge.
The climate Action Challenge
A nationwide effort sponsored locally by the cities of Bellevue, Issaquah, Mercer Island, and Redmond, the purpose of the challenge is to bring people together in community and give them tools to assess their home’s potential for reducing their emissions, and offer legit recommendations on steps you can take to achieve those reductions. From there you can form your own team or join one that already exists. Households within a team will be able to see the goals and results of the other team households. Since we’re already connected by our commitments to IATC, we’ve created the Issaquah Alps Trails Club Board team.
Another option is to form your own community or join one that already exists. Households within a community can’t see the goals and results of the other households, but they can see the rolled up results of the whole community. So it seems that teams are for households somewhat familiar with one another, and communities are for those with or without a team, but who want to be part of something bigger without revealing your household goals and results. We at IATC have also created the Friends of the Issaquah Alps community, and we hope that everyone joins us here.
signing up
Of course there are more details about the program, but it’s not that complicated. To participate is free and the only pressure comes from within and how committed you are at achieving your goals—or “actions” as the system calls them. To get started, go to https://eastsideclimatechallenge.org/communities to create your household account and join the Friends of the Issaquah Alps community. Once you complete the Getting Started steps you’ll be fully underway. We hope that you team up with friends, co-workers, family, or any other group that shares your willingness to hold themselves accountable for actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
watch this space
Throughout the challenge we will be publishing educational and scientific articles about climate change. We will also continue working with our partners People for Climate Action, Forest Health Watch, the City of Issaquah, and King County to offer programs and hikes that educate and inspire to keep up the effort. Taking concrete steps to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions can be made easier when you’re connected to a supporting community. Let’s walk this path together.