10.14.08

Is climate change real?

Posted in Climate Change at 9:37 pm by Administrator

Some people question whether climate change is really happening, and whether or not it is caused by human activity. I believe it’s one of the most serious environmental threats we have ever faced. Extreme weather events such as Hurricane Katrina and this year’s “500-year flood” in the Mississippi watershed are just the beginning. I don’t think we want to wait until our coastal cities are underwater before taking meaningful action to reduce carbon emissions.

The global south is already suffering severe consequences. I worked in the Sahel region of West Africa 25 years ago with farmers who were already suffering from climate change. They could no longer grow traditional food crops and their wells were dry. I did what I could to help mitigate the effects by building wells & earthen dams for water supply and irrigation, but it was inadequate. They became “environmental refugees” and had to leave land they had farmed for generations. They moved to shantytowns near the capital city, where jobs were scarce, pay was meager, and living conditions were miserable.

The story is similar throughout the global south. In Bangladesh and other lowland countries, sea level rise has already inundated hundreds of square miles of farmland. Some island nations in the south Pacific have had to relocate entire populations. As the Greenland and Antarctic ice shelves collapse and sea level rises, where will the millions of displaced farmers go?

Here in the northwest, glaciers I climbed five years ago are nearly gone. That’s our water supply. Our rivers have severely reduced flows. Forests to the east of Mt. Rainier are nearly dead from drought and disease. If these trends continue, we too could become environmental refugees.

Some people claim that it will cost too much to control carbon emissions, and it will wreck the economy. I did an extensive analysis of the cost of reducing carbon emissions to 1990 levels at all fossil fuel power plants in the U.S., in order to comply with the Kyoto Protocol. A well funded propaganda campaign funded by the utility industry claimed that it would ruin the economy. My analysis demonstrated the opposite: the cost to the U.S. economy in lost output was about $86 billion over five years. This is less than the cost of Hurricane Katrina, or the Mississippi floods.

My analysis did not factor in the benefits of increased efficiency and productivity, and the development of new technologies and industries that would be required to meet the demand for higher efficiency. When these are factored in, the net impact would be significant economic growth and opportunity.

Energy Secretary Sam Bodman said “Innovation is key to environmental stewardship.” Materials that once were discarded can go into construction projects rather than landfills. Recycled industrial byproducts like coal ash can be made into concrete. Sulfur dioxide can be made into synthetic gypsum used in drywall.

Green industries are among the fastest- growing sectors of the economy, and Washington will benefit by being ahead of the curve and developing this industry as quickly as possible. We need to invest in green-collar job training to prepare Washington’s workforce for clean energy industry and to ensure that green businesses have the skilled workers they need.

We need enforceable limits on global warming pollution. We can conserve a great deal of energy by improving efficiency, changing behaviors, retiring old, dirty energy sources, and producing more renewable energy, all at reasonable cost. All of these solutions need to be incentivized in utility rate structures, to promote rapid implementation. I personally lobbied my legislators in support of I-937.

We also need to take meaningful personal action, and I actively work to reduce my own carbon footprint. I started by commuting to work by bicycle and installing solar heat and hot water in my home. I installed 20” of insulation in my attic, invested in a programmable thermostat and a high efficiency heat pump, and keep the thermostat at 65 degrees in my home. These small changes have reduced my energy consumption more than 50%. With appropriate incentives, every household could adopt similar measures at very low cost.

Legislative solutions that will help reduce carbon emissions and slow the rate of climate change:
 A renewable portfolio standard for new sources of electrical generation
 “Feed-in rate tariffs” that permit utilities to charge consumers a higher rate for renewable energy
 “Renewable energy payments” to homeowners and businesses that sell renewable energy to their utility
 Production tax credits that reduce the cost of new investment in renewable energy
 Consumer tax credits that speed the adoption of conservation measures and renewable energy technology
 Implementing a cap-and-trade system for limiting carbon emissions. This ensures that the needed reductions will actually take place. Past experience with SO2 and NOx emissions trading has shown that it leads to greater reductions in pollutants than either taxes or regulations do.
 Auctioning (rather than allocating) permits will establish a meaningful price floor for traded allowances. The cap needs to be reduced over time so that targeted reductions in carbon emissions actually occur.
 Prioritize transportation investments that demonstrably reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as mass transit, carpooling, and high-speed bicycle routes on all major highways.
 Reduce single occupancy vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by creating meaningful alternatives to the automobile, especially mass transit and dedicated bicycle routes on major roadways.
 The I-5 replacement bridge must be designed to include high capacity transit (light rail or bus rapid transit) and bicycle lanes.
 Develop an incentive-based approach to land use planning that encourages higher density development and leaves open spaces for wetlands, wildlife corridors, and greenways.

My opponent Don Benton opposed these solutions to climate change:
 Opposed a 2008 House Bill 2815 Addressing greenhouse gas emissions and creating green collar jobs
 Opposed a 2008 Senate Bill 6580 Addressing the impacts of climate change
 Did not vote on a 2007 House Bill authorizing utilities to engage in environmental mitigation efforts.
 Did not vote on a 2005 Senate Bill providing tax incentives for clean and alternative fuel vehicles

10.08.08

Energy independence can rebuild the local economy

Posted in Energy Independence at 10:02 am by Administrator

Are you worried about the global financial meltdown and its anticipated effects on the local economy? We are already seeing mass layoffs in manufacturing and financial services nationwide, and this will have ripple effects here in Washington.

We’ll lose a lot of jobs in the coming recession, but fortunately we’ll be buffered from the full effects of the economic slowdown because our industries are high-tech and export-oriented. Nonetheless, we should invest in infrastructure and growth industries to soften the recession and ensure a quicker recovery.

On average, 47,000 jobs are created for every $1 billion invested in infrastructure. The Port of Vancouver currently provides about 2,300 direct jobs, $82 million in annual tax revenue, and nearly $99 million in annual payroll income to local residents. Enabling the expansion of the Port and BNSF railway could add 4,000-5,000 jobs in the next 15 years.

We should also move forward with implementing the recommendations of the Columbia River Crossing Task Force for the I-5 replacement bridge. Restricted traffic flows cause delays and inefficiency that hinder economic growth. Expanding freight and passenger capacity along the I-5 corridor will grow Clark County’s economy and pay off for generations to come.

Energy independence is another good way to create great new jobs. Investment in energy efficiency and new technology increases productivity in the same way that investment in computers and the internet enhanced productivity over the last 20 years. Fortunately, our U.S. Senators understand that. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) recently led the effort to pass landmark legislation in Congress that will spark investment in clean and renewable energy industries.

The clean energy legislation passed in the Senate in September by a vote of 93 to 2. It includes many new provisions: an eight year commercial solar and fuel cell investment tax credit; credits for ocean energy projects; tax credits for homeowners who install solar, small wind or geothermal heat pumps; a tax credit up to $7500 for new car buyers who purchase a plug-in electric vehicle, and a new credit for consumers who use alternative methods to heat their homes. The bill also creates an incentive to install new smart meters which empower homeowners to take control of their energy use. The legislation should be complemented by similar legislation here in Washington.

Senator Cantwell’s announcement said, “This landmark package will benefit American families and businesses by creating over half a million high wage jobs right here in America, empower homeowners to reduce their energy bills, and diminish our debilitating overdependence on fossil fuels. As a nation, we must transform the way we generate and consume energy by promoting investments in clean energy generation and increasing our nation’s energy productivity.”

The legislation creates jobs in energy efficiency:
 Extends the production credit for electricity produced from renewables, like wind, biomass and incremental hydropower. For the first time these production tax credits are extended to wave, tidal, and hydrokinetic technologies which have particular promise in the Pacific Northwest.
 Extends the investment tax credit for solar to eight years, providing the solar industry the market certainty they need to create 440,000 jobs nationally by 2016. In Washington State that translates to more than 10,000 permanent green collar jobs and as many as 15,000 construction jobs.
 Extends and expands the Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs) program that enables public power and consumer-owned utilities that cannot benefit from federal tax credits to reduce their renewable energy investment costs.
 In Washington State, 1,000 megawatts of installed wind capacity has already created employment for 2,650 Washingtonians during project construction and an additional 400 permanent jobs for a total economic benefit of $1.1 billion.
 Creates high-paying renewable industry jobs in manufacturing (welders, technicians, assembly, averaging $41,000), engineering (averaging $117,000) and non-technical (sales, marketing, development, financial, averaging $52,500).
 Provides utilities a tax incentive to put smart meters in Washington homes and businesses to take best advantage of efficient and renewable energy opportunities. Washington State is home to Itron, one of the world’s largest smart meter manufacturers and many leading edge smart grid companies.

Helps homeowners reduce energy expenditures
 Helps homeowners generate their own electricity and hot water by providing a 30 percent tax credit towards the installation of solar electric or hot water systems, and expands the credit to cover residential wind generators and geothermal heat pumps. Homeowners utilizing these technologies can reduce a household’s water heating costs by 50 percent.
 Consumers can also save up to $500 on their taxes if they install energy efficient products in their homes, such as energy efficient windows and high efficiency heating and cooling equipment.
 Provides new car buyers up to $7,500 to buy plug-in electric vehicles, which can achieve over 100 miles per gallon. According to a study by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, we can electrify 70% of America’s cars, which would displace 6.5 million barrels of oil each day (50% of oil imports), and cut greenhouse emissions by an estimated 20%. In Washington State, the cost of powering a plug-in vehicle is the equivalent of 70 cents per gallon.
 For the first time, energy-efficient biomass fuel stoves are eligible for a consumer tax credit of $300. Sixty percent of wood pellet stoves on the market are manufactured in Washington state.

My opponent Don Benton:
 Opposed 2008 House Bill 2815 creating 25,000 green collar jobs
 Opposed 2006 Senate Bill 6508 to increase local production of biofuels
 Did not vote on a 2007 House Bill authorizing utilities to engage in environmental mitigation efforts.
 Did not vote on a 2005 Senate Bill providing tax incentives for clean and alternative fuel vehicles