EDITORIAL: Costs of ignoring climate change outweigh efforts
As much as some Americans would prefer to deny it, climate change has an impact on all our daily lives.
Consider some recent headlines in The Columbian. For example, there was "Clark County residents' electric bills this summer depend on weather," detailing how extreme temperatures alter demand and the price of electricity.
"The warm winter and spring kept rivers full for months, which meant energy production has been high for the first half of the year and market prices have been low compared to other years," Dameon Pesanti, spokesperson for Clark Public Utilities, told The Columbian. "But because we're an at-cost energy provider, we may ask customers to use less electricity during major weather events."
Other factors also affect electricity prices. As has been noted throughout the country, an increase in demand - created, in part, by high-use data centers - will have lasting impacts on energy costs.
Meanwhile, we frequently are reminded of the benefits to having public entities rather than private companies produce and transmit electricity, helping to keep energy relatively inexpensive in the Northwest. Our system provides a sharp rebuke to claims that the private sector always is more reliable and efficient than government.
Such factors, however, are being superseded by climate change. But changing electricity costs are not the only result. As other recent headlines proclaim: "Vancouver focuses on heat, wildfire smoke as it updates climate action plan" and "Central Washington wildfires affect air quality in Clark County."
The frequency and intensity of wildfires have increased in recent years, in part because of the impact of climate change on forest health.
Drier forests provide kindling when a fire breaks out and are more susceptible to pests and disease - which makes them more prone to fires. And depending on the location of a fire and the direction of the wind, Clark County residents can find themselves surrounded by air filled with smoke and negative health impacts.
Experts warn that conditions are ripe for a busier-than-usual wildfire season throughout the Western U.S. As a meteorologist with the National Interagency Fire Center told The (Spokane) Spokesman-Review: "Everything that happened over the past has set us up for a potentially big season. Things still have to pan out relatively, but ... we're still expecting it to be a worse fire season than normal."
In 2022, the city of Vancouver adopted a Climate Action Framework, outlining efforts to reduce carbon emissions over a two-decade period. Now, officials are working to update that plan, and city official Rebecca Small said: "Some of the concerns that have risen to the top are more related to protection from the impacts of climate change that we're feeling in our city - the very hot summer days and severe winter storms, the wildfire smoke. People are now experiencing those on a firsthand level."
Indeed, we see the firsthand influence of climate change on a daily basis. Yet critics are quick to complain about the supposedly unsustainable costs of government intervention such as a Climate Action Framework or the state's Climate Commitment Act.
Such efforts can increase costs for consumers. But the costs of ignoring climate change are significantly higher. As former Gov. Jay Inslee has said, "We're the first generation to feel the impact of climate change and the last generation that can do something about it."
Unlock all stories. Stay informed.
Starting at just $1.99/week
Become a subscriber and get unlimited access to every story, plus our ePaper and app for seamless reading anywhere. Stay informed, support local journalism, and stay connected to your community.
Subscribe today
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.