I teach continuing-ed classes about global warming. It seems like everyone in my classes wants to know, “What can I do about it?”

It’s a good question. On your own, you can commit to buying only electric cars, electric appliances and electric heating systems. Around Seattle, almost all global warming pollution is from greenhouse gasses created by burning gasoline and natural gas. Your current car, appliances and furnace will all wear out in the next 25 years. If you replace them by buying only electric, you will stop your family’s direct global warming pollution by 2050.

The year 2050 is important because it’s the deadline for stopping greenhouse gas pollution that Washington state and the U.S. committed to with the rest of the world.  

Buying only electric is much better than the alternative, but lots of people find it frustrating. They want utilities, businesses and the government to do more, and do it sooner. “I wish there were some way I could vote to say, ‘No more global warming pollution.’”

It turns out you get to make that vote in November.

The Climate Commitment Act

In the 2021 Climate Commitment Act, our elected state government committed Washington to phase out almost all greenhouse gasses by 2050. To make the phase-out easier on everyone, they didn’t phase out 100% of the greenhouse gasses, and they set the phase-out to take more than 26 years. This is not an austerity program. It took the U.S. 26 years to phase out our leaded-gasoline cars before we completely banned leaded gas in 1996. This will be like that: Replacing one kind of car with another.

The legislature was concerned that the transition away from greenhouse gas pollution would be hard on some families. To keep the Climate Commitment Act from becoming regressive, part of the law raises funds to help low-income families with the transition to electric cars and heat pumps. Funds are also raised to buy electric ferries and electric school buses so kids don’t breathe diesel fumes; and charging stations so renters can charge their electric cars; and a bunch of other projects to help Washington state.

Eight million people live in Washington State. A statewide program like this is complicated, so it will be tweaked and adjusted to keep it from becoming too difficult for Washington families.

Initiative 2117

This year, a hedge fund manager paid $6 million to get initiatives on the ballot. One of his initiatives, 2117, kills the Climate Commitment Act’s greenhouse gas phase-out and requires no such program can be established in the future.  

Initiative 2117 starts:

“All state agencies are prohibited from implementing any type of carbon tax credit trading, also known as ‘cap and trade’ or ‘cap and tax’ scheme”

Initiative 2117 would stop the carbon-pricing interventions that stop global warming pollution. It’s actually protecting global warming pollution.

I get asked why anyone would want to do this. Why would anyone want to protect global warming pollution? It is a bad idea, but some people are in favor of burning gasoline, natural gas and the greenhouse gas pollution they release. That’s just how it is.

The good news is you have a vote. You can show your support for eliminating greenhouse gas emissions by voting no on 2117.

Simply put, 2117 protects global warming pollution. We don’t want it. Vote “No” on initiative 2117.

Vote “No” in No-vember

An easy way to remember how to vote is: Vote ‘No’ in No-vember.