Who we are
The climate in Washington State is changing as the planet is warming. Scientists have documented that increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere surrounding earth are raising global temperatures. Dependence on snow pack for stream flows, hydropower, irrigation and drinking water, along with expected rising sea levels make Washington especially vulnerable to climate change driven by carbon usage. For example, research is documenting that higher temperatures are elevating sea levels, changing near shore habitat and impacting fisheries, as well as homeowners. Seasonal snow packs are melting sooner, increasing flooding and reducing fresh drinking water and hydropower resource availability in summer. The make-up of our food crops, landscapes, and natural resources are changing with the climate. Everyone will be affected by Climate Change.
Governor Christine Gregoire, in her Executive Order, Washington's Climate Change Challenge, and County Executives' Ron Sims and Aaron Reardon in similar executive orders illustrate that the everyday actions and decisions of individuals, businesses and government are the biggest determinant of our future climate change impacts. Global fossil fuel use is pushing the levels of carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas, to higher and higher levels. Currently there is no technological fix for removing significant amounts of carbon from the atmosphere, so reducing the impacts of climate change will rely heavily on changing how communities, organizations and government use carbon-based energy resources and natural carbon sinks in their everyday activities. Scientific projections show the sooner that humans can reduce their reliance on carbon-releasing activities, the sooner that the global atmospheric temperatures can stabilize. Learning how to mitigate and adapt to increasing amounts of climate change over the next 30 to 50 years will also be critical.
Washington State University and its partners are in a unique position to change public behavior to reduce dependency on greenhouse-gas releasing activities and convey ways to adapt to the effects of climate change over the next few decades. The WSU Extension network has the ability to engage local communities on multiple levels through educational programs, training, community outreach, and by facilitating a coordinated response to the highest priority public issues. WSU Extension, with the support of WSU faculty and students, research stations, and partners, has a broad array of scientific and technical expertise to support programming on climate change. Programs include the Extension Energy Program, Beach Watchers/Watershed Masters, Master Gardeners, Master Compost/Recyclers, Climate Friendly Farming, Forest Stewardship, Family Living, 4-H youth development and the Climate Change Distance Degree Program being done in conjunction with the National Wildlife Federation. These programs engage the public in their homes, churches, schools, businesses and recreating spaces. Partnerships in education and research include the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group, county governments, state agencies, the federal government and private industry.
What we do
Program concept
Washington State University Extension, in a partnership with the University of Washington will create the Carbon Master Program to train, equip and manage a core group of volunteers, or Masters, for engaging Washington citizens and politicians on climate change issues. The Carbon Master Program will work specifically with the UW Climate Impacts Group to get the newest science and expertise on climate change issues. The focus of this program will be on changing public behaviors that are contributing to climate change and providing tools for how to adapt to expected climate changes. Public outreach will include social marketing techniques, interactive teaching methods, peer-to-peer connections, and civic engagement. Like other Extension programs, volunteers will be expected to give at least 100 hours of time to the community in exchange for the training course. This program will train a group of Carbon Master Volunteers while also leveraging existing Extension outreach programs and their base of 10,000 volunteers by incorporating climate change curriculum into their annual volunteer training programs. This education technique will connect the climate change message to the primary interest of the volunteer and their clients. Carbon Master volunteers will not only assist in training volunteers in other programs, but they will also engage the public directly, including underserved neighborhoods, schools, businesses and social service agencies. The topics covered by these volunteers will be varied but each will have a goal of reducing carbon emissions and offering mitigation and adaptation strategies for those most affected by climate change. Staff and volunteers will evaluate the programs while fine-tuning their educational techniques throughout the duration of the program.
Our Role in the Statewide Strategy
WSU Extension is in a unique and strategic position to face the challenges posed by climate change. Extension runs programs in many diverse areas and brings the university, scientific expertise and knowledge directly to the people of Washington State. Through community partnerships and volunteer actions, this knowledge is dispersed through communities. It provides the vehicle to effectively "get involved." The Carbon Masters program will link its curriculum with the larger statewide and nationwide strategies for addressing climate change.
The Carbon Masters Program will use an interdisciplinary approach for addressing climate change issues. The curriculum will inform and engage the public through a variety of educational methods. The program curriculum will develop core competencies in essential educational module topic areas. These areas will include:
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Civic Engagement |
Climate Change Science |
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Energy |
Sustainable Materials/Building |
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Transportation |
Natural Resource Use |
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Economic Development Opportunities |
Training the Trainer |
Where do you fit in?
The Carbon Master Program will provide individuals, communities and the environments they live in, with trained volunteers who have had interdisciplinary based education, to help citizens, business leaders and local officials make informed decisions about the most effective choices to make concerning their carbon usage, while pointing out key strategies for confronting the impacts of climate change.
News feed/ Events
7/22/2008 – Welcome to the new Carbon Masters web page! Most of the site is still under construction, so keep checking back as we add new content. In the meantime, please visit our Statewide Carbon Masters Site for more information about this program.