News

We don’t talk about politics on our blog very often, but last week was a historic one for climate change policy.

Last month the Environmental Protection Agency determined that greenhouse gasses endanger public health and welfare. This decision could allow the agency to regulate carbon emissions under the Clean Air Act. The EPA collected comments from the public in two hearings last week, one of which was in Seattle on Thursday. Benj and I went to a rally to show our support. More from The Seattle Times and Grist.

On the same day Gov. Chris Gregiore delivered several executive orders to Washington State agencies. They include demands for emission-reduction plans for top greenhouse gas polluters; standards on the amount of carbon emitted during production, distribution, and use of fossil fuels; and new plans for reducing driving across the state. See The Seattle Times.

Meanwhile the Waxman-Markey climate and energy bill made it through the US House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee. Al Gore says this bill “represents a crucial step forward in addressing the global climate crisis, the need for millions of new green jobs to end the recession, and the national security threats that have long been linked to our growing dependence on foreign oil and other fossil fuels. I encourage Congress to further strengthen this excellent legislation during floor consideration and move to pass this bill in both the House and the Senate this year.” See The New York Times.

And finally, President Obama adopted tougher auto emissions standards for the whole country. See Grist.

This seems like progress!