The Rotary Club of Seattle closed out its year-long focus on healthy communities with a powerful reminder that environmental sustainability is central to that mission. At the May 27 meeting, longtime Rotarian and environmental leader Dave Spicer laid out a stark portrait of a warming planet—then pointed to tangible solutions emerging across the world and within Rotary itself.
“What my goal is, is to try to pull all the dots together to give us a perspective on how serious climate change is,” Spicer told members. “It's very serious in our own region, as well as around the world.”
Spicer, chair of the Environmental Sustainability Committee for Rotary District 5030, drew on data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Paris Climate Accords to show that the last decade has been the hottest since global records began in the 19th century. The world is now hovering around 1.5°C of warming, the level scientists have long warned is a critical threshold.
He described how CO₂ and methane—from fossil fuels, feedlots, and thawing permafrost—are driving more intense hurricanes, tornadoes, megafires, and heat domes. Events once considered “once in a century” are occurring with increasing frequency.
Closer to home, Spicer highlighted four climate pressures already reshaping Washington State:
· Ocean acidification harming marine life and oyster beds
· Increasing wildfire risk from diminished, earlier-melting snowpack
· Multi-year drought and emerging water scarcity
· Severe flooding, including a December event that displaced 100,000 people
“These four things are already happening and will get worse in the future,” he said. “That's a reality. We just need to prepare for it, maybe to adapt for it.”
Spicer emphasized that climate change is as much a human and economic story as it is an environmental one. In a recent year, the United States saw 27 extreme weather events, each with damages exceeding $1 billion. Insurance companies are pulling out of high-risk states such as Florida and California, leaving many homeowners without coverage.
Public health impacts are mounting as well. Spicer pointed back to the 2021 Pacific Northwest heat dome, when Seattle hit 108 degrees and Eastern Washington reached 119.
“There were over 1000 people who were hospitalized for respiratory illnesses,” he said, noting that those most affected often had asthma or heart conditions.
He also flagged the rise of “climate trauma” among younger generations.
“There's a new diagnosis dealing with mental health, and it's called climate trauma,” Spicer said. “There are young people… so traumatized by what's happening with the environment locally and globally that they are extremely anxious.”
Despite the sobering trends, Spicer devoted significant time to the positive momentum underway. Globally, renewable energy—including wind, solar, and hydro—is expanding rapidly and, in many regions, outpacing coal.
Countries such as China and India are simultaneously large emitters and major investors in clean energy, electrified transit, and plastic reduction. In the United States, utilities and public agencies are moving toward zero-carbon energy.
He noted that Seattle City Light has been “zero carbon since 2005,” relying heavily on hydro with growing contributions from wind and solar. At the policy level, federal incentives and state laws in places like Washington and California are pushing utilities, transit systems, and the construction sector to reduce emissions.
Rotary, Spicer reminded members, formally added environment and climate as one of its seven areas of focus six years ago. Today, an estimated 10,000 Rotary clubs—about a third worldwide—are engaged in environmental projects.
District 5030 examples include:
· Tree planting and urban forest restoration
· Lithium battery recycling initiatives led by Bellevue Rotary
· Duwamish River and Boise Creek habitat restoration projects
· Pollinator and bee habitat efforts in Lake Forest Park
“If you take nothing from this presentation, except maybe more awareness about how severe this tsunami of climate change is, think about taking something called the Bright Action,” he urged, directing members to brightaction.com. “The little things really matter.”
The meeting then turned from global stewardship to caring for Rotarians themselves. Marcia Mutisi, chair of Rotary Cares, outlined how the committee receives care notices, confirms with members what can be shared, and then mobilizes support—from cards and calls to practical assistance.
Her motivation, she explained, was shaped in part by the experience of member Steve Crane, who died alone at home and was later found by his son. With an aging membership and rising mental health challenges in the broader community, Mutisi sees Rotary Cares as an essential way to “keep a pulse on what's happening with our members.”
She encouraged members to contact her with both challenges and celebrations—everything from health concerns to new babies—stressing that permission from the member is always sought before sharing with the club. Co-chair Ashley Berman is now helping expand the scope of the committee, including support for members’ business needs and community connections.
Coming Up for the Rotary Club of Seattle
Program Chair David Bobanick closed with a preview of key dates as the club nears the end of the Rotary year:
· Wednesday, June 3 – Lunch at the WAC Penultimate meeting of the year, featuring Leonard Garfield, Executive Director of MOHAI, speaking on healthy communities and servant leadership.
· Thursday, June 11 – President’s Party, 5–8 p.m., Queen City Yacht Club Annual celebration honoring outgoing club president Jan Levy, outgoing SRSF president Lillian Sherman, and other club leaders. Members are encouraged to RSVP via the club website.
· Wednesday, June 17 – Final Lunch Meeting at the WAC Last meeting before the summer break, featuring social and community activist Le Rochelle Bryn Madkins and the traditional passing of the gavel to incoming president John Steckler, marking the start of the 2026–27 Rotary year.
In her closing remarks, President Jan Levy returned to a theme that tied the day’s program together: stewardship.
“Environmental sustainability isn't just about driving less or recycling more, those things matter, but at its core, it's really about stewardship,” she said. “It's about recognizing that the resources we enjoy today are not simply ours to consume, they're ours to protect, improve, and pass along.”
She likened that ethic to an old Boy Scout lesson from her grandfather about leaving a campsite better than you found it—and to a favorite line from her email signature:
“Leaders plant shade trees under which they will never sit.”
“The communities we inherit were shaped by the people who cared enough to think beyond themselves,” Levy concluded. “Our responsibility and our opportunity is to do the same for the next generation.” With that, she adjourned the meeting, leaving members with both a challenge and an invitation to act—locally, globally, and within their own club.
-How to y'all have time to do these!!??! Fabulous and thank you!
