Western States Unite to fight Global Warming

Today, the governors of five western states agreed to work together to reduce greenhouse gases by forming the Western Regional Climate Action Initiative. Articles in News Channel 21 in Oregon, and in the Seattle Post Inteligencer explain that Washington, Oregon, Arizona, California, and New Mexico announced the plan at the annual Winter meeting of the National Governors Association in Washington D.C. .

Idaho is not one of the states - yet! The time has come for concerned citizens to become much more proactive in petitioning our Governor and other state leaders to join this regional plan, or explain publicly why they won't. This issue has to go beyond the silly game of politics we often see. Clearly, for our own future and future generations, we have to start creating positive actions now to slow down the pollution and greenhouse gases problems we are causing in Idaho, the U.S. and the World.

I submit that a strong effort to promote this communication with our Idaho state leaders could take place in the next 8 weeks as the International Equinoctial Earth Day March 21, the Step It Up - 2007 event April 14, and Earth Day April 22 are being organized. In Idaho as elsewhere, individual citizens, community organizations, environmental groups, churches, businesses, and schools are all starting to take a role in reducing greenhouse emissions. We have every right to expect our state and federal government to help us with this effort now and in the future.

In earlier posts I have discussed similar issues and actions. See especially February 05, 2007,

Lisa Stifler in the Seattle PI, notes that the Western Regional Climate Action Initiative sets out to:

"-- Create a regional target for reducing greenhouse gases within 6 months.

--Establish over the next 18 months a mechanism for meeting that target, which may mean creating a cap-and-trade system that would allow utilities or businesses that are beating the target to sell others the right to pollute.

-- Create a five-state registry for tracking and managing greenhouse gas emissions."

Stifler's article also notes that, "The initiative is being designed so that additional states and provinces can sign on, said Kathleen Drew, Gregoire's climate policy expert. Leaders in British Columbia have expressed interest in the plan, she said. And it could provide a framework for a national program for combating climate change."