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Scientific experts are prone to bias, overestimate their certainty and government systems are not good at adjusting to new science. Those admonitions come from Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor in a statement addressing the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the case of Charles C. McCrory v. Alabama. In the piece, Sotomayor asks what courts should do when faced with convictions “resting on science that has now been wholly discredited?” The question offer lessons for how gov...
Gov. Jay Inslee wants to buy 8,767 people a $1,125 latte. Metaphorically, at least. Inslee's new program to subsidize the purchase of electric vehicles is so wasteful at reducing CO2 emissions, it is the equivalent of paying that absurd amount for a 16-ounce latte. On Earth Day, Inslee announced a $45 million program to subsidize the purchase or lease of electric vehicles. The program is targeted at those making 300% of the federal poverty level or less, which amounts to...
As Washington’s CO2 tax, known as the Climate Commitment Act, heads to the ballot this fall, this logo highlighting projects that received funding from that tax will become more prevalent. And you are paying for it. The use of taxpayer-resources to promote the CO2 tax follows the decision by the Legislature to send one-time checks of $200 to utility customers funded by the Climate Commitment Act just two-months before the November election. It is part of a pattern we are likely to see accelerate as the vote on I-2117, w...
The legislative session is over, and it had the potential to be very positive for salmon recovery. There was bipartisan support for habitat restoration. Legislators also had a huge amount of money to allocate because the tax on CO2 emissions generated far more money than anticipated. Despite that, the Legislature failed to make significant progress on salmon. It is one more wasted opportunity to protect an iconic state species. The most glaring example of the failure is in...
Washington’s new tax on CO2 emissions ended up adding about 43 cents per gallon of gas for 2023. The final price was reduced by several market interventions by Department of Ecology staff, but prices are likely to increase next year. Ecology staff released the results from the fourth-quarter auction of CO2 emission allowances. The settlement price was $51.89, a significant drop from the previous auction price of $63.03. The average tax on CO2 in 2023 ended up at $54.74 per m...
Next year, one of the state’s newly adopted climate policies, the low-carbon fuel standard, will take effect in our state. The legislation requires companies to blend biofuels or fund charging stations for electric vehicles. Although it has increased gas prices in California and Oregon, the governor and environmental activists claim it would cost Washington drivers nothing, while the prime sponsor testified it would cost no more than 2 cents per gallon. “Don’t let anyon...
For the people living in the Lewis-Clark Valley on the Snake River, Gov. Jay Inslee’s report on destroying four dams tries to offer some solace. After a “thorough review of relevant economic reports and conversations with experts,” the report’s authors have some ideas about how to offset the serious harm that would be done to the community. Reading the vague assurances from the report reminded me of another community hit by the harmful economic impacts of environ...
The state wolf population saw significant increase, growing by 16% in 2021 according to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. The number of packs grew to 23 from 29 in 2020, and the number of breeding pairs increased from 16 to 19. The consistent growth of the wolf population is good news and is the result of hard work of staff, the Wolf Advisory Group and Northeast Washington ranchers, who have taken steps to reduce wolf attacks. These good numbers contradict the...
This morning, Gov. Jay Inslee announced his latest climate proposals for the 2022 legislative session. Despite proposing hundreds of millions of dollars in additional spending, none of the governor’s proposals today will reduce additional CO2 emissions. Every policy – from subsidizing solar panels, to subsidizing electric vehicles – duplicates an existing policy. They are expensive but add nothing. Additionally, the creation of a new office to ensure accountability for CO2 r...
