The word “crisis” has become over-used in our society.  The term has lost some of its power, because people are so used to hearing it.  So when many of us hear a phrase like “global crisis,” or “planetary crisis,” is it any surprise that the meaning doesn’t really sink in?  We are so used to hearing about disasters, that one more catastrophe hardly seems like big news.

But what does “planetary crisis” really mean?  What does it mean for those of us here in Oregon, and for the public officials we have elected to represent us?  The world-wide crisis that I refer to is, of course, the environmental crisis—and specifically the crisis of global warming.  It is a problem for which all of us bear some responsibility; but before we can act, as a people, to overcome it, we have to understand what a “planetary crisis” really means.  For one thing, it is truly planetary in nature, with potential to effect each and every square mile of the Earth.  This is different from a national crisis like problems with social security, or the national debt.  It is possible for individuals to escape a country whose economy is collapsing due to debt; but there is no place on Earth that will not be touched by global warming.

So, a planetary crisis is global in extent—it affects the whole world.  However, that definition still does not touch on the second part of the term: the word “crisis,” itself.  For a community, a government, or a civilization, a “crisis,” must be considered different from just another “issue” to debate and to act on.  Today, global warming seems to be an “issue” almost everywhere; it is more talked about than ever before, and is worrying everyone from economists to family farmers.  In many circles, climate change is even considered an “important issue”—one that requires much more than minimal attention.  But have most decision-makers realized that global warming is truly a “crisis”?  I think not.

Which brings us to Washington County.  Climate change is certainly an issue here; it may even be an “important issue.”  But a crisis?  In the words of Chairman of the Board of Commissioners Tom Brian, “Washington County engages in an increasing number of environmentally sound practices from “green” building codes….to building a LEED Gold headquarters for Clean Water Services….to being the initiator and lead advocate for the Drive Less, Save More program, Commuter Rail and many other programs.”  Chairman Brian seems to think this is enough—that the county is doing its full part to combat global warming already.  But is this really true?  A crisis is a problem so large, and so imminent, that it must be acted on immediately, if truly catastrophic results are to be avoided.  This global crisis is a junction in history that calls on us all to transform our way of life, to make choices—and make them immediately—that will preserve this planet in a state as hospitable to civilization as it has been in the past.  This crisis is a now-or-never moment; we either act now, and do so with the determination to overcome all obstacles—or we lose our chance forever.

Is Washington County meeting our crisis head-on?  Certainly, it is taking positive steps.  But at their current pace, they will not get us where we need to be fast enough.  Washington County takes global warming seriously, but not as seriously as it needs to be taken.  A few LEED certified buildings represent a good start, but actions like these must be accompanied by a regional plan for bringing down total greenhouse emissions; there must be a strategy in place for reducing pollutants from the community as a whole.  With a plan like this, LEED certified buildings and programs to encourage public transportation become part of a much wider goal—a means of fulfilling tangible progress that reduces the area’s overall contribution to the crisis.  Without such a plan, however, isolated efforts to build a few energy-efficient buildings here, or promote recycling there, lose much of their meaning.  They become noble gestures—but, perhaps, little more than gestures, all the same.

Last spring, the City of Hillsboro, one of the largest municipalities in Washington County, formally recognized this reality.  The city council unanimously passed a resolution calling for implementation of a comprehensive plan that would bring down emissions from the community as a whole.  The city’s many already-existing sustainability initiatives will be an essential part of the plan’s success, and will be complemented by future actions taken to bring Hillsboro closer to its emission-reduction goals.  Now the Washington County government needs to come to this same realization.  It is time to take a cue from Hillsboro—and from nearby Portland, which has even more extensive emissions-reduction plans.  Small, isolated steps make a good start.  But, alone, they will not get us out of a crisis.

-Nick