The fight against climate change in Olympia appears to be setting many urban and rural lawmakers on opposite sides of the battle, and we fear Eastern Washington may end up on the losing end. While there are several carbon-reducing bills still alive in the Legislature, one in particular is a concern for Colin Hastings, executive […]
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Climate proposals need better cost analysis
For Washington to show leadership on climate change and build support for costly new carbon-reduction programs, the state must do a better job explaining how they’ll affect taxpayers. The lack of clarity around costs is painful as the Legislature weighs four different proposals to reduce emissions — a carbon tax, a low-carbon fuel standard, a […]
Researchers: Biofuels mandate may cause more harm than good with plowed-up land
Hundreds of thousands of acres of grasslands and wild habitat in the Upper Midwest have been plowed up to plant corn and soybeans in the past decade because of demand created by the government’s ethanol mandate, according to a trio of academic researchers who argue that federal biofuels policy is causing more environmental harm than […]
New data shows California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard adds 16 cents/gallon to gasoline costs
SEATTLE — A California fuel policy is having a significant impact on the state’s gasoline and diesel costs according to new cost data released by state energy regulators. New data just reported by the California Energy Commission[1] shows the California low carbon fuel standard or “LCFS” now adds 16 cents/gallon to the cost of gasoline and […]
LCFS: “Bad news all around”
A proposal to create a low carbon fuel standard program (LCFS) in Washington state has cleared the House Appropriations Committee and could soon land on the House floor for a vote. Supporters view it as one part of an overall clean energy plan to reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions, which in 2014 composed roughly […]
Low Carbon Fuel Standard wrong for Washington: Costly, unworkable fuel policy
As part of his proposed 2019 climate agenda, the Governor wants the Legislature to take another run at imposing a Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) on Washington, despite it having been rejected twice before and despite it being an ineffective and unsustainable proposal that has been shown to increase gasoline and diesel fuel prices in […]
Low carbon fuel standard’s “hidden” gas tax
With Washington having the third-highest gas tax in the country, critics of a proposed low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) say it would make fuel prices even higher but without the benefits of gas tax revenue in transportation investments. … If approved, the bill directs the state Department of Ecology to set up the LCFS program […]
Research & Commentary: Renewable Energy Mandate Expansion, Carbon-Dioxide Tax Would Make Life Harder for Low-Income Washingtonians
Carbon-dioxide taxes are inherently regressive and disproportionally harm low-income families. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found a $28 per ton carbon tax would result in energy costs being 250 percent higher for the poorest one-fifth of households than the richest one-fifth of households. CBO reports the reason for cost discrepancy is “a carbon tax would […]
New low carbon fuel standard proposed
As with last year, efforts to reduce Washington’s greenhouse gas emissions is prompting several bills as part of Governor Jay Inslee’s “green energy” proposal – and the topic took up much of his State of the State speech. One of those proposals seeks to reduce carbon intensity in transportation fuels through a low carbon fuel […]
Low-carbon fuel has high cost according to supporters
As part of a package of policies to reduce Washington’s carbon-dioxide emissions, legislators are proposing a low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) which would decrease CO2 content of fuel using a number of strategies. Most common would be mixing more biofuel with existing gasoline. … Each gallon of gas emits the same amount of CO2, so the […]