Shoreline climate progress report: Shoreline residents drove 16% less
Thursday, May 8, 2025
Telecommuting cut driving, preventing more emissions than Shoreline’s trees can ever sequester. Instead of more driving cuts, the Shoreline council focused on trees & compost sorting.
 |
| A pie chart from the city’s climate action plan shows the sources of greenhouse gas emissions. |
The Shoreline City Council reviewed the city’s climate progress report on May 5, 2025, highlighting decreased driving per person, two new light rail stations, an e-bike/scooter share program, and reduced building energy use.
To achieve the city’s Net-Zero goal, it must eliminate or offset 246,001 annual metric tons of CO2 equivalent (MTCO2e) by 2050.
Transportation is Shoreline’s largest emissions source, with vehicles spewing about 135,300 MTCO2e — 55% of the city’s total emissions.
Average vehicle miles traveled per person dropped 16% from 13.54 to 11.4 miles, mainly due to pandemic era telecommuting, preventing about 21,650 MTCO2e of emissions annually.
However, the council was more interested in tree planting and apartment resident compost sorting.
Council member Keith Scully pushed for a crackdown on restaurants and apartment dwellers who don’t sort their recycling and compost. “I'm hoping that the city will step up enforcement,” he said, “I think it's time to start saying these are the rules and we need to have this done.”
All solid waste disposal accounts for 2% of Shoreline’s emissions (less than 5000 MTCO2e).
 |
| Traffic and trees on 10th avenue in Shoreline - photo by Oliver Moffat |
Council member Annette Ademasu wants to count trees every year instead of every five years.
“It seems like we're missing a lot of data,” she said. Ademasu also pushed to increase canopy coverage from 37% to 40% by 2040. “We could have a slogan: Shoreline 40 by 40,” she said.
Shoreline’s entire urban forest removes about 13,890 MTCO2e each year. If the city increased its tree canopy coverage from 37% to 40%, it would sequester somewhere around an additional 1,000 MTCO2e each year.
Even if Shoreline maximized its tree canopy cover to 60%, this theoretical best-case sequestration capacity would only remove about 19,000 MTCO2e annually — still less than reduced driving.
Posts
6 comments:
What kind of tree canopy are we talking about? Since the evergreen trees were cut down to make way for the light rail who is responsible to make sure our new tree canopy that we were promised isn't overwhelmed with cottonwoods?
Right now cottonwoods are taking over the new planting areas along the light rail, will that be addressed?
This feels like a cheap shot directed at those of us who think there is merit in maintaining the city’s tree canopy and green spaces. Should be labeled as “commentary”.
Why are we not learning from the pandemic? Reduced driving reduces emissions. We need incentives for companies to allow telecommuting and for people to use public transit. The sub headline says it all - the council is focused on the wrong things.
So, what's the answer to our climate challenges? Another pandemic? That's what this article seems to imply while denigrating the efforts of the City Council to fight climate change on all fronts. Nice.
The tone of Mr. Moffat's article implies that the City Council should consider and work on nothing other than driving cars. There is quite a bit more to running a city than reducing miles driven in order to maintain and achieve a well-run, livable community. He also neglects to mention that trees do far more than sequester carbon. They provide shade for walkers and bikers and cool hard surfaces surrounding homes and apartments. The urban forest holds millions of dollars of savings in avoided infrastructure costs and pollution reduction along with storing carbon: According to the 2023 Urban Tree Canopy Assessment, it provides $21,058,647 in total annual benefits in improved air quality and stormwater reduction plus stored carbon. [P. 18, Urban Tree Canopy Assessment] The City Councilmembers face a formidable task addressing the many components affecting climate change. They are to be commended.
Back in the day we separated our recycling - green, brown, clear glass each in their own bin. Tin cans in a bin, aluminum in another. Of course we didn't have so much plastic (useless) waste. If you want me to think that "mixed" recycling works, please provide some data. In the meantime enforce the speed limit or other "laws" that will actually affect our quality of life in Shoreline.
Post a Comment