“Protect Washington Act” headed for this fall’s ballot

Washington’s Alliance for Jobs & Clean Energy, of which the NW Energy Coalition is a member, has filed a ballot initiative to reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions while generating jobs and growing the state’s clean energy economy.

The Protect Washington Act will reduce incentives for industries to pollute and will generate funds that will be used to replace dirty energy with new renewable resources and increased energy efficiency.  Additional investments will be made to counteract the growing damage that pollution and carbon emissions are doing to our health, to our forests, and to our water resources, which are vital to agriculture and to communities throughout the state.  Finally, families and communities that are most adversely affected by pollution or whose livelihoods may be put at risk as Washington transitions to a clean energy economy will also be focal points for investment.

The Protect Washington Act is a shared response to a pressing crisis that can be seen in the worsening wildfires afflicting our region, the acidification and warming of ocean water, and heightened levels of asthma and other health conditions that are exacerbated by pollution.  The fact is that dirty energy has been harming our health and climate for decades and, as we watch the consequences of climate change emerge and worsen, people, businesses, and organizations throughout Washington are realizing that now more than ever we need to start cleaning up the mess and spare our children from having to cope with even greater crises down the road.  The Protect Washington Act engages all of us in that effort.

Details concerning the initiative will be released shortly and signature gathering to place the initiative on the ballot in November will begin soon.

Sign up here to join the effort