The Environmental Priorities Coalition is made up of over twenty of the state’s leading groups working together to protect our land, air and water. The Coalition started in 2003 and has become more and more successful. Each fall the coalition selects four environmental priorities for the upcoming legislative session. This year’s priorities are listed on the Washington Conservation Voters’ website and the Washington Environmental Council’s websiteRelated events, the Environmental Priorities Legislative Workshop and Environmental Lobby Day are listed on our events page.
The 2009 Environmental Priorities are:
Cap and Invest
By implementing real limits on global warming pollution, we will create new jobs and stimulate the growth of a clean energy economy here in Washington State. This effort starts by putting a cap on greenhouse gas emissions, and then having polluters pay when they pollute. This new revenue will be invested to reduce fossil fuel dependence and spur new clean-tech innovation, while assisting moderate- and low-income people with volatile energy prices. Through state action now, we will reduce global warming pollution in a manner that benefits Washington’s economy, helps us shape regional and national programs, and situates us at the cutting edge of the new clean energy economy.
Efficiency First. Promoting energy efficient homes, businesses and public institutions will save money, enhance energy security, and significantly reduce global-warming pollution. Energy efficiency is the cheapest and most immediate way to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and will create thousands of good, family-wage jobs in Washington. This bill will put “efficiency first” by promoting super-efficient, low-energy-use buildings, providing incentives to maximize energy efficiency, requiring energy use information on buildings offered for sale or lease; and making our public buildings models of energy efficiency. This policy will also help to ensure that low-income consumers can cope with rising energy costs.
Transit-Oriented Communities.
Washingtonians want to live in affordable, walkable and transit-oriented communities. With population growth, we are facing increased traffic congestion, diminished quality of life, and ever-increasing greenhouse gas emissions. Transit-Oriented Communities would revise the state’s transportation and land-use planning framework to assist local jurisdictions to plan for growth in a sustainable and climate-friendly way. The bill will provide incentives for cities and developers to create affordable, livable, transit-oriented development, increasing transportation choices.
Invest in Clean Water.
From Puget Sound to the Spokane River, clean water is Washington’s lifeblood and our communities can’t thrive without it. This package of targeted polluter-pays fees will protect the taxpaying public and ensure that polluters take responsibility for the impacts of their actions. The effort will raise new revenue to fund critical projects to save Puget Sound and restore Washington’s rivers and lakes. By investing in stormwater infrastructure, toxics prevention and other programs, we create new jobs, relieve financial pressure on local government, and promote new economic stimulus.
These reports are always encouraging. It is good to see a deeper level of commitment to environmental priorities in Washington, as opposed to simple, superficial gestures.
Not only is this short list encouraging, this may be a good starting point for determining how to effect change at our local level. It’s easy to get caught in “paralysis by analysis” when faced with a problem like making our little city sustainable. But, by confronting a few issues in a focused manner, we can not only direct our energies more efficiently, but we can also learn from those in nearby communities that are working towards the same goals.
We still have some work to do in determining what our metrics should be, and what our baseline numbers are, but again, this looks to be a useful framework from which to start building.