Dear Friends,

While we are so busy with holidays on the horizon and looking forward to participating in the good things in life, it is still important to review legislative policies and be informed of ones that, I believe, will impact county policies, your dreams, and financial well-being.
 
I remember the days from long ago when I would rationalize irrational policies as being acceptable, after all, the think tanks and scholars say the science is settled—they must be right. However, science is never settled, nor is science determined by consensus.
 
Having said that, I write today to inform you of a recent action taken by our state’s Department of Ecology, which is the decision to join the Western Climate Initiative, Inc. (WCI) for their carbon credit auction platform. This is to carry out the legislature’s Climate Commitment Act, E2SSB 5126, Bill Report, scheduled to take effect January 1, 2023. The Act was passed on a party-line vote during the 2021 Legislative session to reduce greenhouse gases and put environmental justice and equity at the center of climate policy. Here is Governor Inslee’s policy brief responding to the climate.
 
You can read Ecology’s release here. Here is an informational page on the WCI, Inc., Participating Jurisdictions Overview. Here and here are links to additional information I found regarding the origins and purpose of the WCI in 2007.
 
There are built-up layers of policies and global influence over the years, I believe, behind the Climate Commitment Act. I’ll begin with the Memorandum to Establish the Pacific Coast Collaborative. It is a document outlining a plan as partners, in taking action to address climate change, and for a shared regional vision created at the June 2008 Western Governors Association meeting. That document spawned the 2012 West Coast Action Plan on Jobs to once again affirm the shared vision of Pacific North America as a model of innovation and sustainable living.
 
Both documents suggest needed policies to create the future that has been envisioned for us. Also created in 2012 was the West Coast Infrastructure Exchange (WCX). Here is an article about it in the Bellingham Business Journal from November 2012, describing the role of the WCX, which is to have a partnership to help meet public infrastructure needs that government leaders say are critical for the region to stay economically competitive in the coming decades. I can’t help but believe they are all interconnected, but that I haven’t the time to research that at the moment.
 
Carbon credit exchanges are not new. Carbon trading began in 1997. Forbes published an article about the now defunct Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) in December 2010. More research on the CCX from a 2010 article can be read here. Here is an article from May 2019 reporting on a carbon credit scam in Britain. This is quite a web, I’m sure, if you are looking to follow the money.
 
The 2022 Legislative Session opens January 10. I understand that it will be held mostly on zoom. Going to a carbon credit exchange system as outlined by the policies and agreements above will dramatically change how we live and work. Your state representatives need to know your thoughts on what the majority party passed last session and where you stand on future policies. You can locate your state representatives at www.leg.wa.gov under find your district on the left side.
 
Grateful for you…
            Live free!