The 2009 Legislative Session ended with a mixed bag on environmental bills. For the first time in years the environmentalists were on the defensive but this was due as much to the bad economy as anything else.
After Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said he wants to consider a mileage tax on motorists, the White House nixed the idea. The tax has been proposed in some states, but has angered many drivers.
The Washington State Legislature is now considering several bills that will require local governments to limit the amount of miles that citizens drive each year. They are doing it in the name of “Climate Change” but if that was true they would be focusing on vehicle emissions instead of miles drive...
As environmentalist now target homeowners and families, the question that more people are asking is just who is running the environmental movement in Washington State.
We must break our dependence on foreign oil and reduce green house gases. However, we must do it in a thoughtful and deliberative manner that does not leave our state exposed to another Enron, our businesses downsizing due to uncertainty, or our citizens with excessive utility, food, and gas costs.
We can move to renewable energy sources but I-937 as currently codified, (1) disadvantages Washington employers, (2) undermines state climate change goals, and (3) will result in unnecessary job losses.
Can a climate catastrophe still be averted? Scientists voice pessimism in a new study, which concludes that no matter what the Western industrialized nations do, China's greenhouse emissions will be hard to stop. By Volker Mrasek
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