Campaign News

Hello carbon tax friends: We’ve got signature-gathering trainings coming up in Seattle on Saturday April 11 (register here!), in Bellingham on W April 15 (details and registration here), in Bellevue on Sunday April 19 (register here!), and on Bainbridge Island on April 29 (register here), plus lots more events (detailed below, including Mount Vernon this Saturday and Vancouver WA this Thursday). Plus read on for five good reasons to support Initiative 732. Read the full post below or on our blog… 

Signature-gathering trainings and kick-offs

In addition to the signature-gathering trainings highlighted above, other CarbonWA events (which will include some signature-gathering training, and perhaps also some comedy) are listed on our Events page and include Mount Vernon on April 11, Bellingham on April 15, Vancouver WA on April 16 (a fundraiser/reception with Yoram and Duncan, email [email protected] for details), Newcastle on April 18, Tacoma (at UPS) on April 21, North Seattle College on April 22, Whidbey Island (at the UU Church) on April 22, and more in the works!

And of course you’re welcome to stop by the office to pick up petitions or otherwise lend a hand (we’re at 1914 N 34th St, Suite 407, near Gasworks Park, email or call Duncan at 206-518-8219 to make sure we’re not out and about). And if you want us to mail you some petitions just email [email protected] with your address and phone number or make a donation of $7 and we’ll automatically use the address associated with your donation to send some petitions and other materials to you in the mail via Priority Mail!

Five good reasons to support Initiative 732

1. November 2016 is a can’t miss opportunity. Presidential election years bring out young voters and people of color, both groups that strongly support climate action. If we miss 2016 then in all likelihood we’ll be waiting until 2020, if not longer.
2. Polling shows that Initiative 732 can win. Carbon pricing of any form is definitely not a slam dunk, but this Gallatin Group poll in November found that “a majority of likely voters… said they support a carbon tax if offset by lower income and business taxes.” (This poll also found more support for a carbon tax than for cap-and-trade.) See also the detailed graphic from their poll (the 2nd-to-last slide in our slide deck here) that shows >75% support from the 18-34 age group, which is why we’re aiming for Nov 2016.
3. Initiative 732 is awesome in terms of reducing carbon emissions. See our posts on “Carbon taxes are better than you think (Part I: Transportation)” and “Carbon taxes are even better than you think (Part II: Electricity)”. if you want just one graph look at this amazing Energy Information Administration graphic showing that a CarbonWA-style carbon tax would reduce national electricity-sector CO2 emissions by one-half practically overnight.
4. Initiative 732 is awesome in terms of social justice. See our post on “Carbon taxes are better than you think (Part III: Social Justice)”, which shows that passing the CarbonWA proposal will be the biggest improvement to the progressivity of the Washington State tax system since the 1977 ballot measure that exempted groceries from the sales tax.
5. Initiative 732 has bipartisan support. Among the growing group of conservatives who view climate change as a risk, a revenue-neutral carbon tax is the climate policy of choice. That’s true nationally and it’s true locally, which is why Todd Myers (environment director of the free-market Washington Policy Center) is on our Advisory Board. For more proof, note that the Gallatin Group poll linked above shows almost 40% support from Republicans, which is not bad (and ten points better than cap-and-trade).

Readings

Don’t make too much of this because climate is different than weather, but this year’s El Niño will probably herald the end of the “pause” (see also “Long-Awaited ‘Jump’ In Global Warming Now Appears ‘Imminent’”). Canada’s most populous province, Ontario, decided to join the cap-and-trade system with California and Quebec. (See a dissenting voice here, but the truth is that we’ll have to wait and see what happens.) A great report on climate impacts in California from the bipartisan Risky Business group, and an article in the New York Times profiles Governor Inslee and his legislative efforts. Finally, two positive articles in the Washington Post: “Climate-change deniers are in retreat” and “Climate change is more of a priority for voters than you might think.”

Coming attractions: new staff hires and crowdfunding video

Stay tuned for more news next week on the five new staff members we’ve hired from around the state… plus the official launch of a Kickstarter-style crowdfunding video to help pay for them!

As always, comments are welcome on the blog, or via Facebook or Twitter.

Regards,

Yoram