If you’re like me, you’re usually unable to come up for air during the whirlwind months leading up to the holiday season. A few days ago though, I ditched my desk for a hike up Bandera Mountain. As I made my way along the meandering trail, I was struck by the vibrant display of changing leaves and fading wildflowers. The wind picked up and a familiar fall chill set in, offering relief from what has been an unnervingly warm summer here in the Pacific Northwest. As I reached the summit and looked out over the ridge at the rippling geography of the Snoqualmie Region, I was reminded why Sightline’s work is so important.
Mason Lake from Bandera Mountain. Photo by Alicia. (Used with permission.)
Aren’t we lucky? We Cascadians enjoy a uniquely stunning home; one that evokes a heightened sensitivity to the land that sustains us. Our green surroundings help us make greener choices, both in everyday life and the principles that shape our communities. Sightline works to capitalize on this sensitivity and churn it into smart policy solutions with global reach.
What does smart policy change look like, you ask? It looks like the Honest Elections Seattle Initiative, vying for fair, open, and universally participatory elections on your November ballot. It looks like the Anacortes, Longview, and Tacoma communities rallying together against oil trains and fossil fuel exports. Smart policy looks like game-changing shifts in the ways that we tax polluters in BC and the states; shifts in the nuanced ways in which elected officials talk about climate. Sightline has a guiding hand in all of this lasting positive change, providing data-driven research and thoughtful messaging strategies to your local leaders.
Why give to Sightline, you ask? Readers like you make the vital sustainability research that you see on this blog possible. Did you know that Sightline is a nonprofit? All of our well-researched articles and email news products are funded by readers like you. Have you shared an article or two of ours on oil train safety or coal exports? Have you read Sightline’s articles on democracy reform? I encourage you to make a gift to Sightline’s fall drive now if you’ve found any of our work to be enlightening or useful. We need your support in order to produce the research, communication tips, and policy solutions used by the citizens and leaders working on our region’s most critical issues.
We want to encourage fair, healthy, and enduring communities so that everyone can enjoy this place that we call home for years to come. Sightline’s research aims not only to preserve the Northwest’s unique character, but to make it a beacon of sustainability for the world, promoting public policy that works toward this end. Readers like you make this vision a reality.
During this busy time, please pause to consider what sustains you. A gift to Sightline is the perfect way to return the favor.
Give pause, give thanks, and give back!
Fall Leaves. Photo by Alicia. (Used with permission.)
