Carbon Washington's I-732 Media

A grassroots organization focused on accelerating
the transition to a vibrant clean-energy economy.

We advocate for carbon reduction policies that are effective, equitable, economically sound, evidence-based, and politically feasible.

Carbon Washington is part of ACT NOW

ACT NOW (Advocates for a Carbon Tax NOW) is a growing coalition of volunteers and more than 30 organizations including Carbon Washington, Audubon Washington, Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL), League of Women Voters, American Sustainable Business Council, Conservatives for Environmental Reform, and others that want to see a carbon tax pass here in Washington State.
 

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News

New blog, climate action spreading nationwide, and endorsements coming soon!

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By August 16, 2018

Hello, CarbonWA friends: Thanks to everyone who chipped in from our last e-newsletter to raise over $1,000 for Dr. Sharon Shewmake, the environmental economist running for state House in the 42nd! And, the movement for a price on carbon continues to spread beyond humble beginnings in Washington State. Read on for exciting progress. Plus, CarbonWA is preparing to endorse bipartisan climate advocates for state legislature.

Electing a Climate Majority + Blog on Kids Lawsuit

We discuss the recent dismissal of the Youth climate lawsuit in Washington State on our blog, and what it means for climate advocates. The summary is that it’s essential to elect a climate majority in the state legislature as the state court system closes off executive and legal avenues to climate action, and that we’ve got to do more than just elect candidates who talk a good game but can’t back it up. So, we’ve created a candidate questionnaire (check out the questionnaire our website) to evaluate candidates state legislature for endorsement and our support. (more…)

Lessons for Climate Advocates from Youth Lawsuit Dismissal

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By August 16, 2018

The Youth Climate Trial that has meandered through Washington’s court system has stalled for the moment.

The case, pursued by eight young petitioners and supported by attorneys from the Western Environmental Law Center and Our Children’s Trust, asserts that the state is failing to protect young people from climate change impacts, and that young people have a right to a stable climate under the Washington State Constitution and the Public Trust Doctrine. King County Superior Court Judge Michael Scott has dismissed the case as of August 14. However, the plaintiff’s plan to appeal, so we don’t expect this to be the last word on the case. Read more about the legal background and the trajectory of the case: https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/washington  

Despite the failure to compel state action, the case holds a number of lessons for climate advocates as we advance policies to reduce carbon emissions.  (more…)

A climate race to watch, 1631 sigs, & debating fee-and-dividend!

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By July 1, 2018

Hello, CarbonWA friends: The I-1631 effort is about to turn in their signatures (so turn ’em in if you got ’em!), a CarbonWA supporter is running for the state legislature, and debate is heating up over whether a national bipartisan revenue-neutral carbon fee effort is going to work or not. Read on for more!

Climate Action is Heading Back to the Ballot! 

The Yes on 1631 initiative effort is closing in on the signature deadline and they are asking folks to turn in their signatures to the Seattle office by June 30 or on July 2 at the Olympia turn-in event (more details on Facebook). Rumor has it the initiative is going to qualify, thanks in part to a strong volunteer effort, and we are assuming it’s going to move forward to the ballot in the fall. CarbonWA is supporting 1631. You can explore our full take on the strengths and weaknesses of the approach in our analysis of 1631.

A Race for State Legislature to Watch!

One of the primary reasons our effort to put a price on carbon fell short last legislative session was the lack of climate-focused lawmakers in both parties. That’s why we are so excited that Sharon Shewmake, a CarbonWA supporter from Bellingham, was so inspired by our grassroots efforts to act on climate that she’s running for state legislature to help make it happen.  (more…)

See more news > See our media coverage >

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ACT NOW on Climate

Carbon Washington
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OECD avatarOECD ➡️ Better policies for better lives@OECD·
12h

At the current pace of change, #carbon prices will at best meet real #climate costs by 2095. More needs to be done to steer economies along a low-carbon price.

Find out more 🎥⤵️

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CarbonWA avatarCarbon Washington@CarbonWA·
18 Sep

Listen to @knkxfm's 5-minute interview with TransAlta plant and how solar panels will work there.
"We need to be on the cutting edge, on the right side of the paradigm shift..."
🌀 900 acres of solar panels
🌀 Powering 14,000 homes
🌀 Largest solar farm

How Washington's Last Coal Plant Could Become State's Largest Solar Project

There's one coal-fired power plant left in Washington state. But it won't be burning coal for much longer: It's scheduled to shut down or to switch to

www.knkx.org

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CarbonWA avatarCarbon Washington@CarbonWA·
18 Sep

Your bank still betting on fossils?"...the world's biggest banks increased their funding in fossil fuels in 2017 by 11%... But several banks...have taken an #EnvironmentalStand...HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland and @BankoftheWest parent company, BNP Paribas."

Bank Of The West Makes A Stand Against Oil And Gas Companies, Faces Backlash

The San Francisco-based bank recently made it known that it would no longer be doing business with companies whose main activity is tied to oil and ga...

www.cpr.org

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CarbonWA avatarCarbon Washington@CarbonWA·
17 Sep

"As #climatechange warms the oceans, swells the seas, and makes deadly hurricanes a fixture of American life, a massive and permanent retreat from the coasts may be the only way to protect lives and livelihoods in the long run"
#HurricaneFlorence

We Should Think Seriously About Abandoning America's Coasts for Good

A climate scientist thinks that we aren't taking major storms like Florence seriously enough.

www.vice.com

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CarbonWA avatarCarbon Washington@CarbonWA·
14 Sep

With 72 governments and 16 new jurisdictions in attendance, governors, premiers and ministers will meet to agree collective climate action for the next 12 months in a UN style conference for state and regional governments.

Biggest ever gathering of global states and regions on climate action

www.theclimategroup.org

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CarbonWA avatarCarbon Washington@CarbonWA·
13 Sep

A former State Farm Insurance CEO makes the case: “A revenue-neutral carbon tax will encourage manufacturers to develop new ways to reduce their emissions and prompt consumers to be more environmentally responsible."
#PriceCarbon #SustainableBusiness

A business in Nags Head, N.C., is boarded up as residents evacuate the Outer Banks in anticipation of Hurricane Florence.

Opinion | An Insurance Executive Explains Why We Need a Carbon Tax

Cutting greenhouse gas emissions is critical to reduce the risks of exposure to extreme weather like the hurricanes now barreling across the Atlantic.

ow.ly

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CarbonWA avatarCarbon Washington@CarbonWA·
12 Sep

Some inspiring news for your feed: @TheOceanCleanup is a nonprofit committed to doing just that... cleaning up the plastic in the ocean
✔️ 2,000-foot-long boom
✔️ 150,000 pounds of plastic
✔️ 1 year at sea
🐟🐬🐠🐳🐋🐡🦈
#OceanCleanUp #PacificOcean

A 2,000-foot-long floating boom, designed by the Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit, will be used to corral plastics littering the Pacific Ocean.

Giant Trap Is Deployed to Catch Plastic Littering the Pacific Ocean

Organizers hope a 2,000-foot-long unmanned boom will collect 150,000 pounds of plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in a year.

www.nytimes.com

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antonioguterres avatarAntónio Guterres@antonioguterres·
10 Sep

Climate change is the defining issue of our time – and we are at a defining moment. If we do not change course by 2020, we could miss our chance to avoid the disastrous consequences of runaway climate change. The time for ambitious #ClimateAction is now. https://t.co/Ad19hj3zsD

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CarbonWA avatarCarbon Washington@CarbonWA·
11 Sep

From Janet Yellen and Ted Halstead (@TheCLCouncil) this op-ed explores the reasons to support the Baker-Shultz #CarbonTax plan
"This would allow the majority of American families to economically benefit from helping solve #climatechange."

The Most Ambitious Climate Plan In History

The Baker-Shultz plan is a breakthrough climate proposal that corporations and conservatives can love, Janet Yellen and Ted Halstead write.

fortune.com

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CarbonWA avatarCarbon Washington@CarbonWA·
10 Sep

Have you heard about the new high resolution terrain map for #Antarctica? ❄️ The Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica (REMA) will, "allow researchers to better monitor the effects of climate change on the ice."
#IceMelt #ClimateChange #Science

The Larsen C ice shelf in Antarctica in a new map made with satellites operated by a Department of Defense agency.

New Antarctica Map Is Like ‘Putting on Glasses for the First Time and Seeing 20/20‘

A high resolution terrain map of Earth‘s frozen continent will help researchers better track changes on the ice as the planet warms.

www.nytimes.com

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CarbonWA avatarCarbon Washington@CarbonWA·
6 Sep

Should the Tacoma LNG facility move forward? PSE says it will reduce shipping emissions from Bunker fuel, but #RiseForClimate and #ClimateJustice activists disagree and are planning a rally on Saturday morning. What do you think?

Rise for Climate, Jobs and Justice

On September 8, thousands of rallies will be held in cities and towns around the world to demand our local leaders commit to building a fossil free wo...

actionnetwork.org

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What People Are Saying About Reducing Carbon Pollution

“I’m a Republican. I believe that the greenhouse effect is real, that CO2 emissions generated by man is creating our greenhouse gas effect that traps heat, and the planet is warming. A price on carbon — that’s the way to go in my view.”

— Lindsey Graham, United States Senator, R-SC

A carbon tax is a good starting point for working toward eventual state and federal agreements that put a price on carbon emissions. If national elder statesmen in the Republican Party can take this idea seriously, so should other Republicans in our statehouse and in Congress. The same goes for Democrats.

— The Olympian

"Climate change is the biggest market failure of our time. If the United States is to continue to lead and innovate, we must move away from fossil fuels and focus on developing clean, inexpensive, renewable energy sources. A price on carbon is the best policy to promote this change."

— Jim McDermott, Former U.S. Representative (D-WA 7th District)

Scientists and economists agree that the most effective way to free ourselves from fossil fuels is to stop the free lunch for polluters.

— Sightline Institute

"Only when 'the economic and social costs of using up shared environmental resources are recognized with transparency and fully borne by those who incur them, not by other peoples or future generations,’ [Pope Benedict XVI] can those actions be considered ethical."

— Pope Francis, Encyclical Letter “Laudato si”

The optimal solution is a carbon tax (offset by equivalent tax cuts elsewhere) — the most efficient and market-friendly way to address the negative externalities of energy use. But that approach is highly transparent and less susceptible to manipulation by special-interest lobbying than complicated regulatory schemes. No wonder it never gets any traction.

— Richmond Times-Dispatch

“I think that climate change is real. I think that one of the great tragedies of our lives is the Great Barrier Reef dying [and] the environmental consequences of that."

— John McCain, United States Senator (R-Arizona)

It is time for more of our elected leaders to join [Governor] Inslee, [and Senators] Carlyle and Palumbo in giving this major issue the attention and care it deserves.

— Seattle Times Editorial, Feb. 5, 2018

"If national governments won't take action, your community can . . . We can move our economy town-by-town, state-by-state to renewable energy and a sustainable future." (Watch this dramatic video narrated by DiCaprio.)

— Leonardo DiCaprio, Actor and environmentalist

Who We Are

Carbon Washington consists of students, activists, scientists, economists and concerned citizens across the state. All of us believe that we have a moral obligation to reduce carbon pollution and promote clean, renewable energy.

We exist to help design, promote and pass carbon-reduction policies — policies that are effective, equitable, economically sound, evidence-based, and politically feasible — in Washington State and elsewhere.

In 2016, we mounted a statewide campaign to pass Initiative 732 — the revenue-neutral carbon tax we proposed. Economists say carbon taxes are the single-most effective way to get polluters to stop polluting. More than 360,000 citizens signed our petition (a near-record number).

Our initiative was endorsed by a bipartisan group of citizens, business leaders, scientists, economists, public officials, and social and environmental leaders. It attracted worldwide attention. And although the measure did not pass, more than 1.25 million Washingtonians voted in favor of I-732.

Now we’re supporting Initiative 1631. The campaign is being led by other groups, and you can read what they have to say here. You can also read our analysis of how I-1631 compares to I-732 and SB 6203 — the carbon-tax bill that was approved this year by two legislative committees (but which was not voted on by the state Senate).

Beyond that, we’re looking ahead to 2019. We’re exploring ballot measures, legislative bills, and actions that cities can take to cut carbon and unleash clean energy. As always, we prefer bipartisan approaches that make a meaningful difference while appealing to a broad array of citizens.

Are we effective? State Sen. Joe Fain says, “Carbon Washington is one of the few groups working to bridge the divide between the left and right on key environmental policies in our state. Rather than weaponizing environmentalism, they work to educate the public while proposing nonpartisan solutions that respect the complexity of this crucial issue.”

And State Sen. Paul Graves says, “Reducing carbon pollution without harming jobs and families is a tough challenge. It requires thoughtfulness, a clear view of the evidence and the tradeoffs, and a willingness to work with people on both sides of the aisle and both sides of the state. I’m grateful to Carbon Washington for embodying those values.”

You can help us by signing up for our weekly email blast, connecting with us on Facebook and Twitter, and donating so we can do the hard work that needs to be done. You can also join one of our chapters across the state. 

Contact Us

Have a question? Give us a shout!

Please email info@carbonwa.org or call Carbon Washington headquarters at 206-632-1805

Media inquiries only
Please email communications@carbonwa.org or call Samara Villasenor at 206-478-5643. For time-sensitive requests, contact Executive Director Kyle Murphy at (360) 704-0484 or via email at kyle@carbonwa.org.

Office phone
206-632-1805

Mailing address
PO Box 85565
Seattle, WA 98145-1565

Street address
1914 N 34th St., Suite 407
Seattle, WA 98103

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