Inslee choose the Rainier Vista neighborhood for this signing ceremony. Rainier Visia is a mixed income development run by the Seattle Housing Authority, and one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the whole country. No doubt Inslee choose Rainier Visia to emphasize that this bill
addresses eco justice at the same time it curtails carbon emmissions.
The first person to speak was the Great Great Great Grandson of Chief Seattle, and I was very moved by his words. A highschool student from Bellevue spoke about how our summers are hazy with the smoke from wildfires. Our unpleasant introduction for the growing impacts the future holds if we do not act to change course.
The Bills Inslee signed includes all ot the state’s electricity to be carbon neutral by 2045
Some of the things the bills include are 20,000 more electric cars by 2020, and it converts the state fleet of ferries to electric power. And I rode on a ferry to attend this event.
This was a busy day for Jay because earlier he signed Gun Bill. And gun control has been very important issue for Inslee since he took a principled vote for the Assault Weapons Ban costing his his first congressional seat.
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California, New Mexico, and Hawaii, and Puerto Rico have passed passed clean energy laws.
At least six other states are considering similar legislation to fight climate change by shutting down coal power and ramping up renewable energy.
BY PHIL MCKENNA
"This means we can have a fighting chance at saving the things we cherish most — our land, our air, our water and our children's health," Inslee said in a prepared statement. "We aren't done. Our success this year is just a harbinger of successes to come. But we're ready. We can do this."
Inslee has an even more ambitious plan for a nationwide conversion to clean energy: Last week, his presidential campaign issued a proposal to get the country to 100 percent zero-emissions electricity by 2035. while also requiring all new vehicles and buildings to be zero emissions. That followed another 2020 candidate, former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke's announcement of his own climate plan with a goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050. Activists and some congressional Democrats supporting a Green New Dealwant an even faster timeline: transform the nation's electric grid to 100 percent clean energy in just 10 years.
The bill contains groundbreaking changes to the way the state’s utilities do business.
A step-down approach to decarbonizing
The bill sets three targets for the state’s utilities, ramping up in stringency over time.
By 2025, they must completely get rid of coal power (it currently supplies about 14 percent of state electricity, most of it imported).
By 2030, they must be 100 percent carbon-neutral. Eighty percent of their power must come from “nonemitting electric generation and electricity from renewable resources.” (This language is significant: It leaves room for nuclear, natural gas with CCS, or other nonrenewable, non-carbon-emitting sources. In other words, this is a clean energy bill, not a renewable energy bill.)
This was the most encouraging and uplifting event I’ve attended in a long time.