Balance of healthy environment, jobs

[Guest guest]

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD

When people worry about jobs, there's a temptation to let the environment

pay the price. The Washington state Legislature this year remarkably avoided

playing into that phony choice between a good economy and a healthy

environment.

For the first time in recent memory, lawmakers rejected all attempts to roll

back existing rules. With impressive bipartisan cooperation, the Legislature

and Gov. Gary Locke created modest but significant gains for the environment

 

The Legislature approved requiring new power plants to mitigate a share of

their carbon dioxide emissions, a key factor in global warming. Lawmakers

directed the Ecology Department to draw up much-needed new rules on

deploying booms or other oil-spill protection devices during boats'

fuel-transfer operations. And the Legislature put new money into ensuring

adequate stream flows for salmon, and moved forward on a study dealing with

dangerous levels of mercury and other toxins that accumulate in the human

body.

Lawmakers could have done more, such as following Rep. Mike Cooper's

suggestion of immediate action on oil-spill containment. Still, it's a good

record.

Unaccustomedly strong leadership from Gov. Gary Locke, sometimes behind the

scenes, contributed significantly. So too did the Democratic legislators'

continuing commitment to a healthy Washington. But many staunch

environmental advocates also give significant credit to Republican

legislators.

In this state, environmental awareness crosses all the lines, whether

political, geographic or economic. " A healthy economic strategy is a healthy

environmental strategy, " argues Clifford Traisman, Olympia lobbyist for both

the Washington Environmental Council and the Washington Conservation Voters.

Indeed, many companies are attracted to the recreational opportunities,

scenery and generally healthy atmosphere.

Those considerations certainly came into play in a year when jobs were on

every mind. Republican Senate Majority Leader Bill Finkbeiner said his

caucus consciously looked for opportunities to both protect the environment

and help companies. In some cases, though, Republicans simply judged

environmental action to be worth modest tradeoffs for businesses.

Such good judgment is desperately needed in the other Washington. Especially

on global warming, the West Coast and New England are trying to fill some of

the vacuum created by federal inaction.

The bipartisan support he won on carbon dioxide emissions puts Gov. Locke in

good position as Oregon, California and Washington decide on new actions on

global warming later this year. With California's new Republican Gov. Arnold

Schwarzenegger reportedly determined to move ahead, the West Coast may be

about to show again that protecting the environment can transcend political

and economic challenges.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/166513_enviroed.html

 

 

 

 

" There is no other door to knowledge than the door Nature opens. And there

is no truth but the truth we discover in Nature "

Luther Burbank (1849-1926) Horticulturist

 

 

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