Dear Friends,

It’s difficult to decide on what all to communicate. Meetings were light this week. Next Tuesday, Human Services will present on the Puget Sound Taxpayer Accountability Account (PSTAA) and a B-25 Board update during the Human Services Committee.  If I’m not in attendance, it’s because I’ll be at an event in Graham. The details haven’t been finalized or I’d share more.
 
Virtually all government policies trickle down to you and the volume and magnitude of those policies can be, and many times are, overwhelming. So are the vast number of media outlets seeking your attention. Many plans are being made that include you. Below are a few highlights.
 
Today, I learned of an upcoming conference that I’d like to share…mainly to inform, because ultimately, we are responsible for funding the visions and policies promulgated by think tanks, non-profits, NGOs, committees, foreigners, etc.  Also, because I know there may be readers who will want to attend this event for the Cascadia Innovation Corridor (CIC), a plan that links Vancouver, B.C., Seattle, and Portland by many movers and shakers you are familiar with. The goal appears to be creating plans for installing a system of regional governance.
 
They are taking registrations for their 6^th Annual Cascadia Innovation Conference, Cascadia 2050 Vision: Moving to Climate Action, held at the 300-acre Semiahmoo Resort next September. (I won’t be there…too much $$$). I noticed the 2019 Life Sciences Committee identified Life Sciences (healthcare) and Sustainable Agriculture in their 2021 Vision. I just happened to recently read a couple of historical commentaries by Dan Smoot, former FBI turned radio/television commentator (1950s-60s) about the World Health Organization (1958) and one on agricultural programs (1961). (The historical value of Dan Smoot’s work is priceless.)
 
In addition to that conference, I learned about Climate TRACE: Climate TRACE (Tracking Real-time Atmospheric Carbon Emissions) is a global coalition of nonprofits, tech companies, and universities created to make meaningful climate action faster and easier by independently tracking greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with unprecedented detail and speed. We harness satellite imagery and other forms of remote sensing, artificial intelligence, and data science expertise to identify human-caused GHG emissions when and where they happen. Coalition members include Blue Sky Analytics, CarbonPlan, Earthrise Alliance, Hudson Carbon, Hypervine, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, OceanMind, RMI, TransitionZero, WattTime, and climate leader and former U.S. Vice President Al Gore.
 
The passage of the governor’s Climate Commitment Act requires that your governments grow in order to implement the vision. According to the information in Al Gore’s site noted above, he’s been ringing the alarm bell for climate change for 40 years now. No doubt you are feeling the same anxieties as I do with the cost of living increasing each day. Wages can’t keep up. The organizations listed above represent a lot of money and investment in your life. The plans made in conferences and summits are passed down to us through legislation and grants. Our public safety, families, businesses and road infrastructure are in crisis now and must take precedence.
 
The days are passing quickly. It looks like sunshine next week!
 
Grateful for you!