Letter: Initiative 1631 offers a choice for action, climate change
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, October 2, 2018
Editor,
This past season of fires, hurricanes, record-setting heat and drought follow the same trends of the past several years: climate change is no longer a future event, it is already happening.
Right now, Initiative 1631 offers a choice for Washingtonians to take action: Do we want to address this most urgent of economic, social and environmental issues or not? Because the time for waiting for someone else to solve the problem is past.
Make no mistake, the initiative is about cutting climate pollution — pass it and the fossil fuel industry can no longer proceed with business as usual — it will be too much of a financial risk as our state’s decision will reach far beyond our borders.
Pass the initiative and — finally — our state will have the resources to tackle the real impacts of climate change. The money raised by the carbon fee will be used to cut fossil-fuel dependency and to help low-income families and communities adjust. Investments will be made in cleaner transportation and increased energy efficiency.
So far, only California has implemented strong climate policy — the state that continues to have the best economy in the country. The question is whether we who live in Washington have the political will to take action, even if it isn’t a perfect solution. Or, do we instead bend to the interests of the fossil fuel companies who have been subsidized for decades with our tax dollars, the industry that has already raised more than $20 million to defeat the initiative?
If greenhouse gas emissions are not checked soon, we will leave a vastly diminished ecosystem, with enormous consequences. I personally don’t want to ever have to face the question of why I didn’t do more — something — when I could have. Please join with the hundreds of businesses, unions, environmental groups, churches, tribes, health professionals and thousands of individuals who have endorsed Initiative 1631 and vote yes.
Kim Drury
Langley
