Inslee's proposal will improve the state

Let’s see if I have this right. According to Paul Delaney, Feb. 26, 2015, now is not the time to tackle climate change because he’d have to pay more to fill up his tank. Delaney is taking Gov. Jay Inslee to task for his “Don Quixote quest,” of “singlehandedly” combating climate change by “adding ethanol to our fuels.”

According to Delaney, making him pay more to drive to and from work at the Cheney Free Press is not only onerous, it’s unnecessary. Why? Because by Delaney’s “math,” the Earth has only warmed 1.4 degrees since 1880 and he says, “That’s a whole .0107 degrees a year.” What’s all the panic about?

In fact, the Earth has been warming at an accelerating rate. The average surface temperature on Earth was higher in 2014 than at any time since scientists began taking detailed measurements 135 years ago. Nine of the 10 warmest years on record have occurred since 2002.

Mr. Delaney’s argument is akin to getting a speeding ticket and trying to convince the traffic cop that taking his whole 25-mile drive under consideration, his average speed had been well under the limit.

Inslee’s “Carbon Pollution Accountability Act” is about a lot more than what Mr. Delaney puts in his gas tank. The legislation (SB 5283/HB 1314) will help Washington continue its transition toward energy independence, reduce carbon pollution and meet our state’s statutory greenhouse gas limits. And not incidentally, the program will generate plenty of revenue; an estimated $947 million in 2017, and possibly $4 billion by 2030, most of which will go towards sorely needed improvements in education and infrastructure.

Mr. Delaney thinks 1.4 degrees is nothing to panic about. Tell that to the oystermen on Willapa Bay, where carbon dioxide from fossil-fuel emissions have turned seawater so lethal that Pacific oysters stopped growing. Ocean acidification is only one of many serious, potentially catastrophic problems being created by human-caused climate change that Mr. Delaney chooses to downplay. For him, it all comes down to how much he’s going to have to pay to fill his gas tank.

Richard Badalamente

Kennewick