Oregonians have been pushing for comprehensive climate action for more than a decade. Other states and provinces in North America have forged ahead, attracting clean energy investments, creating local jobs, and cleaning up the air they breathe but Oregonians are still paying price for someone else’s pollution—hospital bills for our kids’ asthma, a faltering seafood … Read more
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Oregon legislators are poised to pass a pollution-busting bill and put Oregon on track to meet its climate goals. Some lawmakers and constituents wonder: is investing in clean energy really worth it? Couldn’t we just make polluters pay and leave it at that, instead of also re-investing the revenue in Oregon’s clean energy economy? We … Read more
More than a decade ago, Oregon began putting laws on the books to limit global warming pollution. This year, the state legislature will consider a Clean Energy Jobs Bill with the aim of capping carbon emissions and growing the clean economy and job market. Climate hawks have introduced similar bills for years and without success. … Read more
Initiative 1631, which would have charged polluters and used the money for clean energy in Washington, did not pass. Similar efforts in recent years met the same fate. What are people in Washington to make of these results? How does voters’ stated support for climate action reconcile with their action on the ballot? One answer … Read more
We have seen this act before. Â Every time a state tries to make polluters pay and looks like it could succeed, Big Oil erupts a volcano of cash to protect its huge profits and keep people chained to its dirty products. Washington residents spend nearly $7 billion per year on Big Oil, with most of … Read more
Initiative 1631 is poised to bring a host of benefits to all corners of Washington, including rural communities. The climate action bill could make way for wind and solar farms located in rural areas, encourage the use of manure digesters on Washington dairy farms, and protect remote communities against flooding and wildfires. I-1631 would charge … Read more
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In addition to reducing greenhouse gas pollution and combating climate change, Initiative 1631 would clear dangerous pollution out of Washington’s air, saving lives and slashing health care costs by billions of dollars in the Evergreen State. Any time fossil fuels are burned, both air pollution and climate pollution enter the air. The aim of I-1631 is … Read more
The success of the right-wing Heritage Foundation has been so effective in Washington DC with the Trump administration that its dangerous agenda is now getting peddled in Oregon. The Heritage Foundation’s work can be seen by looking at the most destructive members of President Donald Trump’s cabinet. It recommended Scott Pruitt, Betsy DeVos (whose in-laws … Read more
People in Washington spend billions of dollars each year on dirty fuels. A big chunk of that money goes to out-of-state oil companies instead of staying in Washington to help create local jobs or improve quality of life. Initiative 1631, a citizen-backed measure to pass a Washington carbon fee, could change that by shifting the … Read more
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The road to making Washington climate polluters pay has been long, full of trial-and-error for climate warriors. Many recall recent efforts backed by Governor Jay Inslee in 2014 and 2018, and grassroots activists put an initiative, I-732, on the November 2016 ballot. So far many have tried, none have succeeded. This year, a broad coalition crafted … Read more
