News

Are you good with details and deadlines? Comfortable with numbers? Interested in learning more about how politics work? The chapter is looking for a volunteer to be the treasurer of the political action committee. The time commitment varies, but is quite minimal in off season, and during the fall political season can be about 2 hours per week depending on how active we are. The prior treasurer will train you and be available as a resource for you. Contact Scott Otterson, scotto@sharpleaf.

Now is the time for kindness, compassion, and respect.

Even though many of us feel strongly about what has been happening in Olympia regarding the potential changes to I-937, I am respectfully requesting in the strongest way I can that you sit back for a moment, and with a calm, clear mind think about the bigger picture of what is happening, what our best friends in the Legislature are dealing with, and what we can do to improve the situation.

The Senate and House are both planning to release their budgets this week. In a word, the budgets will be terrible. The state is facing an unprecedented $9 billion budget deficit.

Final House Passage of Measure Expected Next Week

Washington, D.C.- The Senate voted today to safeguard millions of acres of new wilderness, protect hundreds of miles of rivers, expand trails, and protect critical habitat in Wyoming from oil and gas leasing. This is the bill's last stop in the Senate, with final passage in the House of Representatives expected to come next week.The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (H.R. 146) passed on a vote of 77 to 20.

SB 5840 undermines Washington’s clean-energy leadership

The Sierra Club is disappointed in the Washington State Senate’s Tuesday-night passage of a bill that would severely cut renewable energy standards set by public vote in 2006. To read the Press Release and for more information, click here.

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By Peggy Bruton

In mid-February, my husband and I had an energy audit for our house by a guy with Puget Sound Energy. We signed up because our power usage seemed to be increasing too much, more than we could attribute just to the unusually cold weather.

Now let me explain why this option appealed to us. Yes, we wanted to do something about the high energy bills, since we're retired folks on a fixed income, more or less. But we're not financially stressed, and the big reason, really, is that we want to shrink our carbon footprint any way we can.

Washington, DC: In addition to today directing EPA to consider granting a waiver to California for its clean car law, President Obama also indicated that his administration will issue new fuel economy standards in the coming months that will go beyond what the Bush administration had started.

The Bush Administration did not issue a final rule for model year 2011-2015 vehicles under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, thereby providing a tremendous opportunity for President Obama and his Department of Transportation to issue the first mandated increases in fuel economy for cars in decades.

Environmental groups are praising American voters for electing pro-environment candidates across the country. President-Elect Barack Obama repeatedly said that rebuilding the economy with clean energy would be "priority number one" in his administration. Environmental groups today called on Obama and the new Congress to translate the extraordinary attention paid to energy and environmental issues during the campaigns into action in the coming year.

by Mike O'Brien and Tim Gould, guest columnists

Last year voters turned down the Roads and Transit ballot measure, a package that included 50 miles of light rail and 182 miles of highways. The Sierra Club opposed that package because the additional highway lanes would swamp all benefits of increased transit and worsen global warming. Today, the Sierra Club supports Sound Transit presenting the best possible transit-only plan to voters in November.

Transit alternatives will help reduce global warming pollution, half of which comes from vehicles in this region. Scientists say we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050 to avoid the catastrophic effects of global warming. James Hansen of NASA says carbon in the atmosphere has passed the critical level of 350 parts per million and we must act immediately to reduce it.

King, Pierce and Shohomish County voters, voted all the way down the ballot and passed an important public transportation measure: Proposition 1.

Proposition 1, will help tackle three problems at the same time – global warming, gridlock, and gas prices. This ballot measure will build 36 miles of new light rail, increase bus service overall by 17% starting next year, and increase commuter rail service by 65% immediately.