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 Gov. Jay Inslee hosted a virtual panel of climate experts Friday to discuss the urgency of the climate crisis. The event was held at the University of Washington campus in Seattle with students present.
Leading up to Climate Week NYC next week, Gov. Jay Inslee gathered climate scientists and fossil fuel industry experts for a virtual panel on Friday. They discussed the growing urgency around climate action, Washington state’s efforts to end climate pollution, and how fossil fuel interests are spending millions on lobbying and astroturfing campaigns to weaken and overturn state policies.
“We know it's time for climate action, because the cost of inaction is measured in human lives and deep economic disruption,” said Dr. Lisa Graumlich, dean emerita of the University of Washington's College of the Environment.
ExxonMobil raked in $59.1 billion in annual profit last year. Shell Oil profited $39.9 billion. Chevron profited $36.5 billion. But Chevron said to the Seattle Times this year, “it’s not our job to go bankrupt” while complying with state emissions reduction policies. Hungry for even greater profits, Big Oil is actively undermining state and national efforts to reduce pollution and slow climate change, including in Washington state.
Astroturfing groups, faux-grassroots funded by the oil industry, are pretending to represent the public as they beg legislators to reverse climate policies. Expensive television advertisements and social media campaigns are funded directly by fuel producers and their lobbying arms.
“When you pay for gas, you’re paying for the ads they use to blame high gas prices on climate policy,” said Leah Missik, senior policy manager for Climate Solutions. “High gas prices coincide with record profits.”
Washington’s Climate Commitment Act imposes a cost on pollution and redirects funds for things like electrified public transit and school buses, home efficiency improvements and heat pumps, public charging infrastructure, and more.
“Here in Washington state, we’re taking the ultimate measure to cut the cost of gas: we’re giving you the choice to be powered by something else,” said Inslee. “And this session we’re going to introduce legislation to get transparency on oil prices.”
Friday's panelists included:
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Krishna AchutaRao, dean and professor at the Center for Atmospheric Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, and lead author of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report
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Lisa Graumlich, professor in the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences and dean emerita at University of Washington’s College of the Environment, president of the American Geophysical Union
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Leah Stokes, fellow at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute, professor of environmental politics at University of California, Santa Barbara and award-winning expert on the role of utilities and other fossil fuel entities that promote climate denial and oppose clean energy laws
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Leah Missik, senior policy manager for Climate Solutions and expert in Washington state climate policy who has researched fossil fuel industry spending aimed at weakening Washington state policies
Gov. Jay Inslee welcomed Japan's Hyogo Prefecture's Gov. Motohiko Saito to Olympia Wednesday.
A Wednesday handshake between Gov. Jay Inslee & Gov. Motohiko Saito of Japan’s Hyogo Prefecture on the steps of the Washington State Capitol renewed a relationship that has endured for six decades.
The city of Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture’s capital and largest city, is more than 4,000 nautical miles from Olympia, Wash. Despite the great distance between Hyogo Prefecture and Washington state, the two regions have a great deal in common.
Saito and Inslee met to discuss contemporary issues affecting their regions including climate change and creating clean energy jobs. And they also enjoyed a reception to celebrate the historic anniversary and reflect on the importance of international relations.
In 2015, former Gov. Toshizo Ido visited Olympia and planted a dogwood tree with Inslee next to the Temple of Justice. Much like the tree on the Washington State Capitol campus, this historic sister state relationship remains in great health.
Read the full story on Gov. Jay Inslee’s Medium
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Amtrak's new electric bus running between Seattle and Bellingham is the first intercity electric route in the nation.
Gov. Jay Inslee visited Whatcom County Tuesday to highlight the region’s progress to offer fossil fuel-free transportation options. The recent Climate Commitment Act will provide funding that speeds up the ability of communities around the state to advance clean transportation.
Ferndale’s Vicinity Motor Corp. produces an electric commercial truck with a 150-mile range and a payload capacity of 5,500 lbs. Inslee got behind the wheel for a spin around Vicinity’s parking lot. The truck recharges quickly, operates quietly, and might help corporations run clean, cost-effective, and efficient fleets.
Inslee also hopped aboard Amtrak’s new electric bus that runs between Seattle and Bellingham. By replacing the old diesel bus, 10,000 gallons of fuel and 109 tons of CO2 emissions will be spared annually. Washington is the first state in the country to offer an intercity electric bus service. The governor later visited Bellingham to learn about the city's new electric vehicle fleet, funded in part by grants from the state Department of Commerce.
Read more about Amtrak's new electric bus from King5.
Gov. Jay Inslee and Secretary Cheryl Strange of the state Department of Corrections cut the ribbon on the Wenatchee reentry center, the first to open in 20 years in the state.
The first residential reentry center in the state in 20 years opened Thursday. Gov. Jay Inslee was onsite, scissors in hand, to help cut the ribbon. The facility will accommodate people recently released from state correctional facilities to help them train for work and restart their lives. Such facilities are one arm of the state Department of Corrections’ broader strategy to better reintegrate formerly incarcerated people back into the community and avoid their return to prison.
Inslee later visited the high-tech production line at the Diamond Foundry. The firm is exploring the use diamonds to disperse heat away from semiconductors to extend server life. The company makes the diamonds themselves through an advanced and ethical process, and also sells jewelry featuring the diamonds.
Inslee also visited the Chelan-Douglas Community Action Council to tour their food storage warehouse. The group provides nutritional support to the community and helps residents access subsidies to weatherize and improve their homes. The Climate Commitment Act funds many programs like this to help reduce the amount of energy residents need to heat and cool their homes.
Friday is National POW/MIA Recognition Day
Friday, Sept. 15, is National Prisoner of War and Missing-In-Action Recognition Day. The occasion is a tribute to military servicemembers held captive or those who never returned from conflict. The day was established in 1979 by proclamation by President Jimmy Carter.
"Today, we honor the brave men and women who served our country and never returned home. We are forever grateful for their service and dedication to our country. We're also inspired by their families' resilience, who have faced unimaginable loss," said Gov. Jay Inslee.
Washingtonians find ways to help Ukraine
Washington is a top destination for Ukrainian refugees - more than 21,000 have arrived between January 2022 and March 2023. The governor budgeted $16 million in biennial funding and additional resources funding for refugees from Ukraine in the 2023-2025 budget.. In Tacoma, Safe Boats International is manufacturing eight boats for the United States Navy to send to Ukraine to bolster their maritime defenses.
State grants fund digital navigation services to help new internet users get online
Nearly 240,000 Washington households do not have access to high-speed internet, and 4% do not have access to a computing device. The Washington State Department of Commerce has announced $14.5 million in grants to continue expanding access to the internet through digital navigator services to help these Washingtonians connect to vital information and services.
Taste Washington Day is coming up on Oct. 4
Taste Washington Day is an annual celebration of Washington grown foods served in school meals during the fall harvest season. WSDA Farm to School, the Washington School Nutrition Association, and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction Child Nutrition (OSPI) partner to sponsor the event each year. The event kicks off October as Farm to School Month.
Last week's newsletter celebrated the opening of a tiny home village incorrectly said to be located in Tumwater. The Franz Anderson Tiny Home Village is located in Olympia. The village is located on a property jointly purchased by the City of Olympia and Thurston County, which helped accelerate the village's construction. It will soon house 50 former occupants of a nearby encampment along Wheeler Avenue in Olympia.
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