Tag Archives: carbon

From Crosscut.com Tuesday’s election wasn’t a blowout victory for Democrats in Washington state. Yet it looks as if Democrats may gain a few seats in the state Legislature — and even those modest gains could help propel some progressive priorities over the finish line, lawmakers said Wednesday. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

From the National Association of Wheat Growers This year marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. On April 22, 2020, we celebrated our planet by highlighting what we can do to protect it. The theme for Earth Day 2020 is climate action. The enormous challenge of action on climate change has distinguished the issue as the most pressing topic for ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Belching livestock, decomposing manure and cultivated cropland emitted about 6.6% of Washington’s greenhouse gases in 2017, the Washington Department of Ecology reported Tuesday. The agriculture sector contributed 6.5 million metric tons to the state’s release of 97.5 million metric tons of gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. Read the rest of the article ... Read More »

From the Tri-City Herald For the eight days beginning on Halloween, Washington state and the Northwest got a stark look at the danger of replacing hydro power with renewables like wind power. During that period of time, there was virtually no wind across the states served by the Bonneville Power Administration, leaving hydro, nuclear, and fossil fuels to make up ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Agriculture figured prominently in a long debate in the House this week on whether to mandate more biofuels in gasoline and diesel fuel to resist climate change. After 3 1/2 hours of debate, House Democrats passed a bill Tuesday directing the Department of Ecology to implement a low-carbon fuels program, similar to those in Oregon and ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Washington lawmakers have proposed a carbon fee as part of a transportation funding package, the third major attempt at limiting the atmosphere-warming gas through such a policy since 2018. If passed the measure would be the first of its kind in the nation, but similar proposals in the state have failed even as scientists have ratcheted ... Read More »

From the Capital Press A climate-change agenda outlined Monday by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee calls for banning coal by 2025, mandating reductions in vehicle emissions and spending millions on energy-efficient buildings and to subsidize electric vehicles. The package does not not include a fee on greenhouse gases. Speaking at a press conference in Seattle, Inslee didn’t rule out a carbon ... Read More »

The Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG) has joined The NO on 1631 Coalition, which opposes Initiative 1631, the Carbon Emission Fee Measure. I-1631 would enact a carbon emissions fee of $15 per metric ton of carbon on certain large emitters beginning Jan. 1, 2020. Each year, that fee would increase by $2 until the state’s 2035 greenhouse gas reduction ... Read More »

By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist This Thursday is the last scheduled day of the legislative session. Unlike recent years, there is no talk of a special session. Another important legislative deadline occurred last week, in which all bills must have passed out of both chambers to remain “alive”, unless they are deemed necessary to implement the budget. Over the next ... Read More »

From the Capital Press A carbon tax bill in the Washington Senate seeks to shelter farmers from higher fuel costs and calls for investing in rural economies with electric vehicles, public transit and a faster internet to encourage telecommuting. Farm groups and rural Republican legislators, however, have not warmed to the bill. Farm groups say they’re worried about increasing off-farm ... Read More »