From The Seattle Times
By Joan Crooks and Gregg Small

With $4-a-gallon gas, wars in the Middle East, and accelerating climate change, it’s no wonder we’re seeing bipartisan support for ending our addiction to oil.

Fossil-fuel dependence is already costing too much — draining more than $50 million per day from Washington’s economy as it disrupts our climate, causing more intense floods and forest fires.

Expanding oil drilling isn’t an answer. That’s like treating an addiction by increasing the drug supply. Instead, Washington can become a leader in the transition to a prosperous, sustainable future through the Western Climate Initiative (WCI), a coalition of seven states and four Canadian provinces working to reduce their global-warming pollution and build their clean-energy economies.

The WCI has agreed that a carbon cap — a real, verifiable commitment to reduce global-warming pollution — is the foundation of an economically sound climate policy. It’s the signal the private sector needs in order to invest heavily in solutions. And it’s a sure way to plug the gaping leak in our economic bucket — the billions we spend on fossil-fuel imports — and reinvest the savings in local clean energy and energy efficiency.

In late July, WCI released its draft proposal for a regional carbon cap, but the draft doesn’t yet reflect the high caliber of leadership Gov. Christine Gregoire has shown in championing climate solutions over the past three years.

Read more Climate Solutions