A growing number of communities and states concerned about climate change are planning ways to cope with rising tides, severe weather, less snow and even "climate refugees" from coastal areas.

"We can't ask, 'Is there global warming?' We have to ask, 'How can we adapt?' even though it's scarier than heck," says county executive Ron Sims, who has incorporated climate-change preparedness into all planning in King County, Wash., which includes Seattle.

At least five coastal states — Alaska, California, Maryland, Oregon and Washington — are working on preparedness plans, the Pew Center on Global Climate Change says.

Many communities focus on cutting emissions and conserving energy, but some planners say that's not enough. "If we don't take steps to adapt, we're missing half the picture," says Scott Shugart, who is writing a guidebook on "adaptation planning" for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climatic Data Center.

King County assumes its climate will be markedly altered by 2050. It's embarking on a project to strengthen levees that could cost $335 million.

Some watchdog groups object to such plans. Federal, state and local governments shouldn't take on, "at a substantial cost to taxpayers, a problem that is global," says Jon Coupal of California's Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.

Josh Foster at NOAA's Climate Program Office says there's "way more momentum" now than a year ago: