In 2021, persistent heat killed 19 Spokane County residents. In 2023, the Gray Fire killed a person and destroyed hundreds of buildings in Medical Lake. This year, a stretch of the Spokane River dried up completely near Barker Road for the first time in recorded history. The county has been in a state of drought for the last four years.
Such events are more common now than in the past due in part to warming temperatures caused by manmade greenhouse gas emissions, which trap heat.
With this in mind, candidates for Spokane and Spokane Valley city councils gathered last week at Gonzaga University to deliver their positions on climate current and proposed policies in Inland Northwest governments…