We believe:

Energy, Environment, and the Climate Crisis

• The Climate Commitment Act is indispensable in reducing our state’s greenhouse gas emissions and must be defended from repeal
• Washington State must continue to be a leader among state, national and international efforts to mitigate climate change through protecting public lands, eliminating ecosystem destruction, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, protecting farm lands, and maximizing forest carbon sequestration.
• Committed action and accountability will lead us to meet Washington State’s climate goals for 45% reduction of carbon pollution below 1990 levels by 2030 and a net-zero carbon-emission economy by 2050, for example;
  • Phasing out existing and preventing new fossil fuel infrastructure, including coal, natural gas and methane hydrate, pipelines, mining, processing, and import/export terminals
  • Supporting efforts to end offshore fossil fuel drilling consistent with the Coastal Zone Management Act, including the prevention of methane hydrate mining, drilling, extraction, and processing.
• The US military is the largest institutional consumer of fossil fuels and generator of climate emissions, and is a threat multiplier of climate change, and the US DOD bears a responsibility to cut climate emissions in half by 2030 for the survival of humankind.
• A fully funded infrastructure is needed for electrification and energy efficiency, including
  • Improved rail transportation via existing services such as Amtrak;
  • A statewide infrastructure to support electric vehicles
  • Major improvements in rail infrastructure and service;
  • Enhanced and expanded power grid, to adequately support new power generation sources
  • Our electrical transmission and distribution networks must be strengthened to accelerate the transition to clean energy and withstand disruption from climate change
  • Increased support for renewable and sustainable, non-fossil, energy programs to supply electricity to the power grid
  • Research and deployment of utility scale energy storage, distributed generation, heat pumps, and smart grid technology
  • Uniform access to the electrical grid for sustainable energy sources, implementing strong net metering standards, equitable rate structures and establishment of standard interconnection rules, uniform procedures and technical requirements for connecting renewable energy systems to the electric utility’s grid;
• Environmental policies should be based on the best available science and be informed, as appropriate, by Traditional Environmental Knowledge (TEK) from local Native American Nations and communities;
• We defend the parts of earth’s systems that are unable to defend themselves, including
  • The incorporation of the principles of Rights of Nature into governance policies at all levels of government;
  • In putting first the land and sea on which the livelihood of so many depend;
• Advancing racial and economic justice means advancing environmental justice for all, including recognition that;
  • Low-income and minority communities have disproportionately suffered from environmental degradation
  • At-risk communities need to be consulted about projects that affect them
• The health of the economy is tied to the health of the environment and that the cost of aggressive action to mitigate the climate crisis will ultimately be less than the cost of taking no action;
•  Government investments, including state pension programs, should divest from fossil fuels;
• Energy subsidies or incentives may be given exclusively to safe, renewable energy sources;
• Energy Utilities should be publicly owned;
• Since electrification of the economy and expanded use of electronics depends on various rare elements, we need strong recycling programs for batteries, electronics and other products which would otherwise require destructive mining and limited natural elements.
• There is no place for the burning or transportation of coal;
• Nuclear power facilities must be safely decommissioned as soon as cleaner, fossil-free alternative energy systems can meet the demands of our power grid.
• In not externalizing harms such as with waste disposal; including waste from energy production whether renewable, fossil fuel based, or nuclear; it must not be sent to disadvantaged neighborhoods here or abroad. 
• In protecting fresh water and fresh water sources, regulating the use of groundwater to avoid overuse, and planning to anticipate future fresh water needs, including the infrastructure necessary to accommodate population growth
• We must end subsidies for and divest from funds which utilize and profit from all aspects of fossil fuels in our state and local economies
• The role of regulatory agencies is to protect the public and that strict regulations must be maintained in the public interest, including:
  • Strict regulation of the transport of fossil fuels and hazardous materials
  • In fully funding cleanup of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation pursuant to Hanford Cleanup Agreement milestones
  • Maintaining the Superfund Tax that requires polluters to pay cleanup costs including methane leaking on currently operating or abandoned wells.
  • Ending fracking and crude oil exports
  • Aggressively regulating toxins in commerce using the Toxic Substances Control Act
  • Create a reparations program funded by corporations for people whose health has been negatively impacted by the pollutants they have created.
  • Expanding environmental remediation programs to allow more contaminated sites throughout the state to be eligible for remediation funding
  • Providing sufficient state funding for clean air agencies to conduct necessary permitting and enforcement actions in a timely manner
• Increase the rate of recycling by requiring deposits and refunds on plastic and glass beverage bottles, as many states do.
• We must limit contamination of the environment by harmful waste materials, such as plastics, heavy metals, toxic chemicals, and radioactive materials, via reduction in use, reclamation and recycling, or proper disposal or storage.
• Plastics are already heavily contaminating our waterways and affecting our fisheries, so we need to remove plastic waste from the environment.  And most plastic is not recycled nor can it be easily recycled, so we should invest in research for recycling or for decomposing plastic waste so it is harmless.
• The crisis in plastic recycling needs solutions including-
  •  Placing primary responsibility on manufacturers to reduce unnecessary plastic and fund effective recycling systems.
• In supporting a national energy policy to minimize global temperature rise to less than 2 degrees celsius above pre industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees celsius above pre-industrial levels.
• In supporting the national energy policy to minimize global temperature rise
• In establishing and implementing a national price on carbon-based pollution to account for the costs of increased air pollution and climate change from fossil fuels, and adopting a carbon fee and dividend program that distributes the fees collected to every citizen in the form of monthly dividend checks
• In making investments and developing industrial policies that can rapidly scale domestic manufacturing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, cut waste and inefficiency, and catalyze deployment and innovation in industrial technologies and processes that will sustain globally competitive American manufacturing jobs, with the focus on replacing fossil fuel industry jobs with living wage jobs in a revitalized non-carbon economy;
•  We need plans to build energy efficient, low-income and affordable housing, with and sustainable local community infrastructure., We can put our people to work eliminating pollution, protecting clean water, and building healthier communities.;
• Tribal involvement in all siting decisions of clean energy projects and transmission lines must be implemented at the earliest inception of planning to avoid damage to traditional indigenous spaces and to avoid costly, unnecessary delays in build out of projects and transmission lines.
• In incorporating Traditional Environmental Knowledge (TEK) from local Tribal organizations in the planning and execution of land and water restoration activities;
• In fully funding cleanup of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation pursuant to Hanford Cleanup Agreement milestones;
• Expanding electricity production with non-fossil energy sources, increasing transmission capability, and building a smart grid are key to decarbonizing our economy
• Manufacturers should be held responsible for the true cost of pollution
• A successful transition to a cleaner energy future requires all major sources of carbon-free energy: wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, and nuclear.
• In utilizing all clean energy resources, including nuclear, until the existential threat posed by global warming is fully neutralized;
• There should not be premature shutdown of carbon-free electricity producing nuclear power plants currently in operation, unless required for safety reasons
• Clean energy subsidies should be prioritized over fossil fuel subsidies;
• Energy conservation should remain one of the key practices toward a sustainable carbon-free energy future
• In requiring local authorities to include climate change in their comprehensive planning
• The Growth Management planning process should be fully funded statewide
  • Expanding the Growth Management Act to include climate mitigation, adaptation and racial equity by ensuring priority is placed on reducing carbon emissions and co-pollutants that disproportionately harm lower income communities and communities of color.
  • Amending the Growth Management Act to add climate change and salmon recovery as goals, and requiring a net gain of ecological function as the standard for all planning and permitting processes.
• Swift implementation of critical science is needed to quantify greenhouse gas emissions associated with all types of electricity generation that haven’t been evaluated, and to ensure planning results in power that is actually clean;
• Focus on, fund work for, and enact new laws as necessary to address technology issues including but not limited to cybersecurity threats, online privacy, online safety, identity theft, consumer data, misinformation, and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
• Fully fund and expand efforts to prevent and respond to wildfires throughout the state, fund research into the health effects of wildfire smoke, fund and support efforts to ensure that worker safety is addressed, and update community emergency plans as needed.
• In policies to incentivize manufacturing facilities, such as pulp and paper mills, food processors, steel and metal producers, refineries, and cement manufacturers  Emission Intensive and Trade Exposed entities   described in the Climate Commitment Act to incorporate the best available technology to continually reduce greenhouse gas emissions and retain jobs within Washington state.
•  It is a human right to have access to clean water free of carcinogens, toxins, and heavy metals.

Technology:

• Digital Equity, the condition in which individuals and communities have the information technology capacity that is needed for full participation in society and the economy of our country, is a matter of social and economic justice.
• International trade agreements that protect and strengthen consumer privacy, tech equity, and digital data protection, and that rein in Big Tech’s corporate monopoly power over jobs, health, communication, and surveillance.”
• Expediting a comprehensive plan for recovery of threatened or endangered Columbia and Snake River salmon and steelhead and Southern Resident orcas by proactively replacing the services the dams now provide with investments in alternatives for clean energy, and in agricultural irrigation, and improved shortline rail transportation; providing other transitional support for regional industry; breaching the Lower Snake River dams after benefits have been replaced;
• Both now and in the future, Washington State should be a leader in developing state regulatory frameworks surrounding AI and ML, especially in industries like financial services and healthcare which pose a greater risk of biased outcomes.
• Safeguarding our fundamental rights to privacy and freedom from discrimination must be given the highest priority;
• As Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technologies are adopted and implemented by companies around the globe across both the public and private sectors, the government must regulate their use in order to ensure accountability, transparency, fairness, and adherence to ethical standards to minimize negative impacts to our communities;
• The US must sustain global leadership in science and technology.  Research & development helps foster innovation and drives emerging technologies that will shape future industries; 
• Government leaders must be actively involved in ensuring these emerging technologies are adequately tested and safe for our communities before widespread implementation;