It's in the Air

An unmistakable sense of change builds in the air of Washington state as its residents take on carbon emissions.

The snowpack vanishes from the
Tatoosh Range in the heat of 2015.

Ordinarily, a setback will blow a movement off course or, at least, stall it, but we aren't living in ordinary times. Almost as soon as Washington state legislators reported their failure to deliver a carbon-tax law last week, environmental groups, with the wind at their backs, announced a new initiative for a similar carbon tax. Already fully detailed and sponsored by a coalition that includes The Nature Conservancy, Climate Solutions, Washington Conservation Voters, and the Washington Environmental Council, the ballot initiative will now seek the signatures necessary to place it on the ballot in November.

The speed of the response to the legislative disappointment suggests the strength of Washingtonians' commitment to addressing global warming. Polling in this report from Sightline Institute supports this conclusion, showing that a supermajority of state residents back the regulation of carbon pollution.

Setbacks like this year's attempt to push for legislative action and the defeat of Initiative 732 in 2016 appear to have bolstered the resolve for carbon regulation and fine-tuned efforts to make it happen. This latest initiative balances the needs for clean energy, ecosystem protection, and aid for humans adjusting to changes related to climate and the economy. For more information about the initiative, click here.

In Washington state, something's in the air and in the people too, and it promises to change the current system that spews carbon into our atmosphere.

The Environmental Ballot

When I first changed the focus of this blog to environmental issues, I said I wanted to emphasize giving people the chance to act in environmentally friendly ways regardless of what their elected officials did. The focus would be on everyday activities, not on political involvement.

However, the political process has important environmental ramifications, and those of us who would like to see society improve its relationship with the environment often want to know which candidates will be environmentally friendly. Figuring this out isn't always easy given that many candidates throw around the word green and it is not always obvious whether a certain policy or legislative vote really helps the environment.

As election time approaches, if you are looking for an information source that helps you translate your desire for a better environment into votes, check out the following resources. The League of Conservation Voters provides a scorecard that lets you see how current US senators and representatives stack up on environmental issues. You can view the scorecard here. The LCV also offers endorsements of candidates that have been environmental champions. Check in on the endorsements here. In the past, the LCV has both endorsed Republicans (for example, Senator Susan Collins of Maine) and put Democrats (Senator Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas) on its Dirty Dozen, which is a list of lawmakers that have consistently supported environmentally harmful legislation. However, since Republicans in general have not made environmental protections part of their platform, it makes sense that the LCV backs few of them.

For voters in Washington state, the LCV's state affiliate, Washington Conservation Voters, also offers a scorecard and endorsements. By doing so, the WCV gives Washington voters an extra layer of political insight. You can use it to evaluate candidates for the state legislature, governor, the state supreme court, and the US Senate as well as proposed statewide initiatives and referenda.

Having environmentally friendly policy and policy makers makes it easier to live greener lives, so if you are wondering how candidates rate with regard to the environment, check out these resources.