Reducing carbon emissions is the fundamental goal of the state’s vanguard environmental policy known as the Climate Commitment Act. But measuring its success relies upon federal data that’s been taking years to compile and disclose. Results from 2021 were released earlier this month, an unacceptable lag that blinds Washingtonians from accurately assessing whether this consequential […]
Opinion
Editorial: Washington’s carbon limits won’t help climate
Those opposed to green schemes that line some pockets and pick other pockets are called “climate deniers” by those who deny reality. Only reality deniers will see in the Washington Department of Ecology’s latest greenhouse gas inventory any sign the state is moving toward complying with its own carbon-reduction law. …. The problem is Washington […]
Lawmakers must blackout-proof the state’s energy transition
Imagine an unusually frosty New Year’s Day in the future and the power’s gone out. Seventeen people are due at 3 p.m., expecting salmon and football, and your oven and TV are just useless boxes. The local utility says there’s no downed trees causing an outage; instead, the power grid cannot keep up with the […]
Sheri Call: Washington’s supply chain at risk with EV mandates
New zero-emission vehicle mandates on the trucking industry are creating serious challenges for trucking fleets, who face limited and costly options in order to operate legally in Washington state. That should concern all of us, since almost 90% of consumer goods arrive by truck. At issue is the state’s adoption of California’s Advanced Clean Trucks […]
Keep lights on as Washington transitions to clean power
A January cold snap that strained the Pacific Northwest electricity grid also serves as a cautionary tale for its future. With temperatures in the teens, power utilities across Washington struggled to cover spiking demand to keep the lights on. Puget Sound Energy, the state’s largest utility, even asked its customers to turn down thermostats and […]
The costs of WA’s cap-and-trade law are just getting started
When the Legislature passed the Climate Commitment Act in 2021, the fiscal note for the law projected prices for carbon credits starting at $20 and increasing by a dollar or so a year. Instead, prices shot up in this year’s auctions, to more than three times that level. Washington’s carbon credits are selling for prices […]
Editorial: Who causes high fuel prices? Politicians need only look in mirror
A couple of months ago, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee famously said that oil companies alone are to blame for skyrocketing gasoline and diesel fuel prices in his state. “We want to give drivers relief. We want to go to the heart of this problem, which is the greed and avarice of oil companies, who are […]
Let’s have an honest conversation about energy costs in WA
As lawmakers adopted the state’s Climate Commitment Act, the business community warned of the price increases it would levy on consumers. It’s simple economics: Raise prices on commodities upstream, and those increases get passed along the supply chain. Public testimony on the Climate Commitment Act, the Clean Energy Transformation Act and other greenhouse gas-reduction policies […]
Opinion | Kris Johnson: To lower gas prices, stop pointing fingers and start fixing climate act
It should come as no surprise to anyone that gas prices in Washington are going up. The Climate Commitment Act’s cap-and-trade program went into effect in January, and by June, our state had earned the dubious distinction of having the highest gas prices in the country for the first time ever. This is no coincidence. […]
Editorial: When it comes to high fuel prices, Washington tries harder
Back in 1962, Avis Car Rental tried to turn its position as the country’s second-largest rental agency into a positive by adopting as its slogan, “We try harder.” A whole ad campaign was adopted carrying various taglines along the theme of “We’re Number 2, we try harder.” We’ve often thought of those advertisements as we […]