We all know the federal government is hamstrung by partisan gridlock. Where once lawmakers recognized that passing legislation required that both parties end up being able to claim success, that no one got everything they wanted, and that progress was never perfect, today there seem to be new rules holding forth: “I will only ‘compromise’ with you if I get everything I wanted, and I get all the credit.” “If you have to eat some crow, that makes me look better.” “I don’t need your help enough to be willing to let you take the credit for what we accomplish.”
Continue Reading Defeat of the Carbon Tax: As Washington Increasingly Mimics the Partisan Gridlock of the “other Washington,” it Risks Losing Progressive Action in the Name of Progressive Principles
Renewable Energy
Cap and Trade to Reduce Carbon Emissions in Washington Is SO 1990s
Lots of big ideas – think the minimum wage, women’s suffrage, abolition, fair labor standards – take years or decades from when they are first proposed to their final adoption. The fact that it takes a while to bring enough of society around to actually adopt a new idea doesn’t mean it wasn’t a good…
Why Electric Cars Require Us to Get Electric Rates Right Now
I got gas a couple of weeks ago. Ok – mostly that wouldn’t be worth reporting. But it was the first time for my new Ford C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid.
Kathleen Petrich reported on January 9 that I had bought a new car. I had been nursing my 13-year old VW Beetle, hoping that…
Seattle Energy Code — Part Two
Point/Counterpoint on Requiring Upgrades When Buildings Undergo Major Renovation
In an earlier post (Part One) I described the broad outlines of the new City of Seattle Energy Code that is under development. The new Seattle Energy Code seeks to go significantly beyond the newly approved 2012 Washington State Energy Code – which itself…