Author: billboyd

Maria Matson of Whatcom Watch recently joined Yes On 732 volunteers Rheanna Johnston, Emma Hewitt, Sally Wheldon, and David Jackman for a Saturday morning of talking to voters. Reports Matson: “They canvassed Bellingham to inform residents about I-732, a proposed initiative to regulate carbon emissions that Washington state voters will accept or reject in November. If accepted, it would make Washington one of the few states to have carbon regulations, and the first in the nation to implement a carbon tax.”

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PRESS RELEASE

Study by Washington State University finds I-732 will increase the value of output in the agricultural and forestry sectors by 1.76% and 0.11%, respectively

SEATTLE, June 27, 2016 – A Working Paper published by the Washington State University School of Economic Sciences concludes that the tax swap created by I-732 will not only reduce pollution, but will also create a net economic benefit for the agricultural and forestry sectors in Washington State. The report, How Does Washington State Initiative 732 Impact the Agriculture and Forestry Sectors?, is now online at http://ses.wsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/WP2016-8.pdf.

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MEDIA STATEMENT

The Association of Washington Business (AWB) is missing an opportunity to help move Washington State toward a more prosperous and sustainable future. Initiative 732 is a policy that is both pro-environment and pro-business. It will help Washington businesses in three important ways

• Business managers currently face a great deal of uncertainty about how the transition to a lower-carbon economy will impact their operations. Adopting I-732 would reduce that uncertainty by setting a predictable price on carbon pollution and satisfying Washington’s obligations under the federal Clean Power Plan.

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Print and digital publications around the state have been running letters to the editor from I-732 supporters. Here’s a sample:

“The dominant themes of last weekend’s news (exploding oil trains and 90 degree heat waves) can be expected to return again and again until we finally get serious about our moral obligation to take action on climate change.” — Herb Hethcote, Bainbridge Island (Bainbridge Island Review)

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Occupy.com just posted a story about “6 ballot initiatives to watch in 2016.” Author Matt Stannard calls I-732 “absolutely the most important initiative in the country.”

From the story: “At the top of the list is the first and only carbon tax and rebate initiative in the United States, an idea championed by a variety of advocates across a wide ideological spectrum. Over a two-year period, Initiative 732 would institute a $25 per metric ton of CO2 consumed in the state. The proposal also reduces state sales taxes across the board by 1 percent; this makes sense because sales taxes are regressive for no socially defensible reason, while the carbon tax at least has a purpose. Even better, the proposal provides up to $1,500 per year in the form of a tax rebate to 400,000 of the lowest-income Washingtonians – the people most likely to fear a post-carbon transition for legitimate economic reasons.”

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Let’s be real for a minute. We keep hearing from politically connected folks within the liberal community that they can’t actively support I-732 because the polling isn’t good enough, or that our scrappy new organization isn’t big and strong enough to get it done. We’ve got two messages for the fence sitters and opponents that want to see climate action but are afraid of making the leap with I-732.

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