Gov. Gregoire urges Washington delegation to support energy and climate legislation

For Immediate Release: June 22, 2009

OLYMPIA � Gov. Chris Gregoire is encouraging Washington�s congressional delegation to support the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 when it comes before the House of Representatives for a vote June 25.

�The United States cannot afford to wait any longer to take comprehensive action to break our dependence on foreign oil. We must seize the opportunity to develop 21st century energy technologies, create jobs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and arrest global warming,� Gregoire wrote in a letter.

Last month, the governor signed an executive order directing state actions to reduce climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions, increase transportation and fuel-conservation options for Washingtonians, and protect the state�s water supplies and vulnerable coastal areas. She is the founding member of the Western Climate Initiative, a collaborative effort among seven states and four Canadian provinces to design a regional cap-and-trade program. Gregoire has taken actions to tighten emission performance standards and strengthen standards for energy-efficient buildings and appliances.

�Climate shapes everything � ecosystems, crops, water, fisheries, the economy and the health of our citizens. We know that while a temperature change of one or two degrees may not feel like much, it can be the difference between rain and snow, between droughts and floods, between a healthy forest and wildfire, and between abundant salmon runs and extinction,� Gregoire said.