The Arlington County Board has unanimously adopted a new policy statement on the county’s response to changing climate conditions.
But some on the same side of the issue as the five elected officials urged them to move even more quickly and aggressively.
“We have the technology and, to be blunt, we really don’t have much time. Our planet is burning up,” said Naomi Thiers, one of those speaking at the public hearing that preceded adoption of the resolution.
Thiers is a member of Third Act, a group of seniors that advocates for progressive responses to environmental issues.
Several other speakers echoed her request to move faster.
“There will be hard choices. There will always be the temptation to wait,” said Michael Lowe, board chair of EcoAction Arlington.
“Now is the time for speed. We’ve got to keep moving,” said Cindy Lewin, who chairs the county government’s Climate Change, Energy and Environment Commission.
The 5-0 vote was another step in a “very, very long journey,” Board Chair Takis Karantonis said.
“Our biggest job here is that everybody gets the message that it’s feasible, possible and desirable” to move forward on climate actions at the local level, he said.
A few among the public speakers, however, said the resolution misrepresented real-world conditions.
Bernie Berne, for instance, said that while flooding conditions during a heavy storm in 2019 were severe, “nothing approaches” the local flooding impact of Hurricane Hazel in 1954. He said the hottest days recorded in the D.C. region were in 1918 and 1930.
Berne also contended the county government has brought some problems on itself through its economic-development strategies.
“Development has created an urban heat island,” said Berne, saying the government could blunt some of the impact by requiring environmentally friendly “green” roofs on new and renovated buildings.
But most of those speaking came to the podium with praise for the resolution’s intent and the efforts of local leaders and the broader community.
“Arlington is a ray of light — we know our responsibilities,” said EcoAction board member Jim Lyon.
Lyon expressed support for the “whole-of-government” approach embedded in the newly adopted climate policy. The policy says that going forward, consideration of climate impacts will occur before planning efforts.
A work plan on developing a climate action plan to implement broader policies is set to be detailed this week. Any new approaches resulting from that will go into effect for fiscal 2027 budget planning next year.
The result will be “collective action … bringing us all together to really move the needle,” Board member Susan Cunningham predicted.
County leaders last adopted a resolution related to climate in 2017.
