Snoqualmie Mayor Matt Larson joined other United States mayors last weekend at the 2007 Mayors Climate Protection Summit held in Seattle Nov. 1 and 2.

The summit, which drew more than 100 mayors from across the U.S., was an opportunity to find solutions and create climate-friendly cities, economies and transportation systems. Big names at the summit included New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former U.S. President Bill Clinton.

At the summit on Nov. 2, Larson signed on to the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, which challenges mayors to address climate disruption in their own communities.

So why would the mayor of a little burg like Snoqualmie sign on to a climate change initiative?

Larson said his purpose was twofold: to raise Snoqualmie’s profile and to build awareness on a related issue – flood control.

“I was taken by surprise by the extent to which mayors are stepping out, in some ways ahead of the public, taking action [on] the issue of global warming and climate change,” said Larson, who described the summit as “very productive.”

Many Americans, he said, doubt whether they can make a difference on the climate.

“Individually, there’s a sense of helplessness,” Larson said. But at the mayor’s conference, “there was clearly a sense of power in numbers.”

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