It’s safe to say that most normal people want to take care of the environment. After all, we’ve only got one planet, so we need to make it last, right? You’ll find varying degrees of extremes, from people who openly destroy wildlife and habitats (maybe for money, maybe for no reason at all) to people who think humanity is the biggest infestation on the planet and we shouldn’t be here at all. Most folks fall somewhere in the middle, probably pretty far from either of those extremes!
But it does raise a very interesting question, doesn’t it? Where’s the balance in taking care of the environment versus the pain that it causes for all of us? It’s an important question, and one we should openly discuss. We’ve picked a couple sources on each side of the argument and will present a couple of the best points from each.
Here are Five Fast Facts on whether going green in Washington is worth the pain:
- 📈📉 More To Do, Part 1 - Green supporters have seen big wins over the past couple of decades through several major climate initiatives. For example, the state’s population and the size of the economy have grown substantially since 2019, but the level of emissions has been on a steady decline. As a ratio of dollars to emissions, they are 90% lower than 20 years ago.
- 💰 More To Do, Part 2 - Cap and trade (also called cap and invest) programs are great for both limiting emissions and for focusing the pain on the worst offenders. They don’t force an immediate stoppage of companies or practices that increase emissions, but they do make them cost more, and that provides an incentive for companies to find ways to be more efficient and produce lower emissions levels. And it’s the biggest issue facing humanity, if the experts (or media talking heads) are to be believed.
- 🤏 Too Much Pain, Part 1 - There may very well be a lot of progress toward the zero carbon emissions goals the state has, but when you look at the big picture it’s all irrelevant. Washington state’s emissions were around 102 million metric tons in 2019. The world’s total emissions output was roughly 34.4 billion metric tons. So even if Washington state reduces its emissions by 100% it’s only about 3 tenths of one percent of the total picture.
- 💸 Too Much Pain, Part 2 - It’s definitely having an adverse effect on prices. It’s no accident that four of the top five most expensive states for gas are ones that have put in place policies like Washington’s cap-and-trade program, which are designed to raise fossil fuel energy prices in the name of going green. State reports show growth and lower emissions per capita, but those reports neglect to point out that much of that income is from carbon taxes or incoming federal money, both of which come out of normal folks’ pockets because they’re passed along by the company. The pain for normal folks is real, significant, and not getting any better as long as these policies are in place.
- 🤔 No Ostriches - Whichever side you take, there’s no sticking your head in the sand. Gov. Inslee has already said he wants to increase the 2024 budget by $2.5 billion to both maintain the current programs and to increase spending on more green programs. One way or another this question is going to impact you!
🔥Bottom line: It’s a big question, not only from a philosophical standpoint, but also from a very real world impact standpoint. The bottom line is that we need to be discussing and debating these things, and supporting elected leaders who represent our positions. Get informed and get active! The future of our state is at stake!
Do you think going green is worth the pain?
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