Legislature: One serious hope
Washington state is taking climate change much more seriously. That's a critical step to improve our environment, health and future. At least as much as any environmental control action we recall, it's also an immensely hopeful, optimistic action.
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD
Washington state is taking climate change much more seriously. That's a critical step to improve our environment, health and future. At least as much as any environmental control action we recall, it's also an immensely hopeful, optimistic action.
Lawmakers have approved a measure dubbed the Climate Action and Green Jobs bill. It turns existing long-term emissions targets into firm requirements. But it also begins to envision the economic benefits that can come from responsible development of renewable energy sources.
The bill, which Gov. Chris Gregoire supported and is expected to sign, sets a goal of having at least 25,000 so-called green-collar jobs in renewable energy and conservation by 2020. (Legislators still must appropriate money to start the jobs process.) The bill also directs officials to work with California and other states in the Western Climate Initiative to set up a regional cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a relatively flexible way to impose limits.
Sure, some fear change. AP quoted state Sen. Jerome Delvin: "They're gonna tell you what size car you're gonna drive, when you're gonna drive it, what size house you'll live in ...." And so on.
Actually, many corporations, families and individuals are making responsible choices that will help meet limits without some imagined draconian rules. Stockholder investors and environmentalists, many working through a network called Ceres, also are pushing companies to deal with the issues. Investors withdrew 14 of a record 54 resolutions after corporations agreed to disclose their risks and strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Like state leaders, many people are concerned about the challenge and are optimistic about meeting it in ways that enrich rather than impoverish our society. This new state measure will help keep the forward-looking momentum growing.
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