The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current, March 29, 2019, WEEKEND EDITION, Image 2

The daily Astorian., March 29, 2019, WEEKEND EDITION, Page A2, Image 2

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Newspaper Page TextA2 THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 2019 Washington state Democrats chart low-carbon future Several bills pending in Olympia By DON JENKINS Capital Press OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington state Demo- crats are fulﬁ lling some of the hefty aspirations of the Green New Deal with their own climate change pack- age, one that would raise the cost of producing, process- ing and transporting farm goods while promising the “equitable distribution of beneﬁ ts.” To do that, the Demo- crat-dominated Legisla- ture is considering bills to tax carbon, cap greenhouse gases, make all electricity renewable, mandate more biofuels in gasoline and die- sel, and govern by “environ- mental justice.” The Green New Deal, a resolution introduced in Congress by U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cor- tez, D-N.Y., and U.S. Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., outlines a 10-year national mobilization to make the U.S. entirely powered by zero-emission energy sources. Like the Washington, D.C., version, the Wash- ington state agenda has the twin goals of banish- Don Jenkins/Capital Press Environmentalists rally on the Capitol steps in Olympia, Wash. ing fossil fuels and fund- ing a bigger government to provide relief to as-yet undeﬁ ned “highly impacted communities.” Democrats and climate change activists say action is overdue on both fronts because global tempera- tures and sea levels are ris- ing and the poor are least able to adapt. Carbon diox- ide levels are higher now than at any point in at least 800,000 years, accord- ing to the National Oce- anic and Atmospheric Administration. By itself, Washington state’s effect on the climate would be at most inﬁ ni- tesimal, Washington State Climatologist Nick Bond said. “Simply from a total car- bon emissions point of view, Washington is tiny com- pared to the world at large,” he said. Based on state, national and international estimates, Washington contributes less than 0.25% of the world’s greenhouse gases. Still, Bond said he sees a practical side to the state leading on climate change: It could teach other states something about imple- menting policies. FIVE-DAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA TONIGHT SATURDAY Pleasant with times of clouds and sun Some sunshine giving way to clouds ALMANAC Mostly cloudy with rain possible First Salem 40/66 Newport 39/57 Apr 12 Coos Bay 40/60 Last Apr 19 Source: Jim Todd, OMSI TOMORROW'S TIDES Astoria / Port Docks Time 3:55 a.m. 4:55 p.m. Low 3.6 ft. 1.0 ft. Ontario 37/64 Burns 28/54 Klamath Falls 25/56 Lakeview 26/51 Ashland 36/64 REGIONAL CITIES City Baker City Bend Brookings Eugene Ilwaco Klamath Falls Medford Newberg Newport North Bend Hi 53 51 54 59 56 49 58 60 54 56 Today Lo 30 31 41 39 42 25 38 40 39 40 W c pc sh pc pc pc sh pc sh sh Hi 57 55 59 65 57 56 66 65 57 59 Sat. Lo 28 32 45 42 43 28 42 42 44 44 W pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc City Olympia Pendleton Portland Roseburg Salem Seaside Spokane Springfi eld Vancouver Yakima Hi 64 55 62 60 61 57 55 59 62 60 Today Lo 33 38 43 42 40 40 34 39 42 33 W c c pc pc pc pc c sh pc c Hi 65 59 68 68 66 58 58 65 65 63 Sat. Lo 34 37 45 45 44 43 36 42 43 36 W pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc TOMORROW'S NATIONAL WEATHER NATIONAL CITIES Hi 76 55 51 48 48 50 83 44 81 61 50 72 73 73 78 73 76 63 66 69 63 51 62 64 74 Baker 30/57 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2019 Tonight's Sky: Hydra, the Sea Serpent, low above the southern horizon before midnight. Today Lo 56 44 35 25 33 36 52 18 65 53 37 52 53 59 68 57 64 52 39 52 48 37 48 44 57 La Grande 33/56 Roseburg 42/68 Brookings 41/61 Apr 26 John Day 35/56 Bend 31/55 Medford 38/66 UNDER THE SKY High 7.2 ft. 7.1 ft. Prineville 32/58 Lebanon 40/64 Eugene 39/65 Full Pendleton 38/59 The Dalles 38/65 Portland 43/68 Sunset tonight ........................... 7:40 p.m. Sunrise Saturday ........................ 7:00 a.m. Moonrise today ........................... 4:05 a.m. Moonset today ........................... 1:11 p.m. City Atlanta Boston Chicago Denver Des Moines Detroit El Paso Fairbanks Honolulu Indianapolis Kansas City Las Vegas Los Angeles Memphis Miami Nashville New Orleans New York Oklahoma City Philadelphia St. Louis Salt Lake City San Francisco Seattle Washington, DC Mostly cloudy with showers Tillamook 39/60 SUN AND MOON Time 9:42 a.m. 11:26 p.m. 58 43 Shown is tomorrow's weather. Temperatures are tonight's lows and tomorrow's highs. ASTORIA 37/60 Precipitation Thursday .......................................... 0.10" Month to date ................................... 2.46" Normal month to date ....................... 6.80" Year to date .................................... 15.05" Normal year to date ........................ 24.19" Apr 5 TUESDAY 58 44 REGIONAL WEATHER Astoria through Thursday. Temperatures High/low ....................................... 57°/39° Normal high/low ........................... 55°/40° Record high ............................ 75° in 1941 Record low ............................. 28° in 1987 New MONDAY 60 43 37 Partly cloudy SUNDAY 60 40 W pc c r r r c s pc pc sh r s s c pc c pc c t c sh c s c c Hi 77 65 43 40 45 44 72 46 81 54 46 73 79 68 82 74 80 67 49 75 48 52 64 65 79 Sat. Lo 50 52 24 25 24 24 43 21 66 27 26 53 58 39 69 35 54 54 30 55 31 35 49 46 55 Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. W pc c c c pc r s pc pc r sh s s t pc t pc pc pc pc r pc pc pc pc “It’s not simply sym- bolic,” Bond said. “You have to learn how to do it.” ‘Inside Olympia’ Gov. Jay Inslee has made climate change his signature issue. In his seventh year in ofﬁ ce, he ﬁ nally has a Leg- islature to match. Democrats expanded their state House and Sen- ate majorities in the Novem- ber elections. The party can pass major climate change legislation without any Republican votes or even unanimous support from Democratic legislators. Inslee rolled out his cli- mate change agenda in December and said it was motivated by “love.” At the same press conference, Reuven Carlyle, the chair- man of the Senate Envi- ronment, Energy and Tech- nology Committee, said he would take the agenda and transform it into legislation. “The reason we’re going to be successful is the inside Olympia work,” he said. “The hard work of commit- tees and amendments and legislation.” With less than a month left in the 2019 session, the major climate change bills are still works in prog- ress. The outlines are clear, though, and the lines are drawn. Democrats have rejected proposals by Republicans to submit some of the major bills to state- wide votes. Farm groups and Repub- licans, especially from agri- cultural districts, are among the severest critics, even though Democrats say agri- culture should welcome leg- islation in response to the droughts and wildﬁ res that have afﬂ icted the state. In a ﬂ oor speech, Sen- ate Minority Leader Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, said mandating carbon-free power will hurt farmers. “We act like this is a boon to agriculture. Well, I hope you don’t need any signiﬁ cant amounts of elec- tricity to run your irrigation pumps, heat your buildings, process your crops because it’s going to get a lot more expensive,” he said. Democrats discount claims that rates will soar and point out that the bill requires utilities to help low-income customers pay energy bills. The bill also has a cost-containment provision. If a utility’s rates rise by an average of 2% a year over eight years, the act could be suspended, according to the bill’s current version. Democrats rejected Republican amendments in the Senate to require annual rate studies on the law’s effect and to suspend the act if Washington’s aver- age rates were no longer among the ﬁ ve lowest in the country. Paris goals Although the Trump administration has with- drawn the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement, Democrats are pushing for Washington state to meet the accord’s goals. That would mean reducing the state’s total greenhouse gas emissions — mainly car- bon dioxide — by 81.5% by 2050. If all the greenhouse gases emitted in Washing- ton by cars, trucks, ships, boats, jetliners, cement plants, aluminum smelters, semiconductor manufactur- ers, coal- and natural gas- ﬁ red power plants and cows went away today, the state would still be emitting too much carbon to meet the Paris goal. “It’s more a feel-good issue for Washington than a substantive issue,” said Tom Davis, the director of government affairs for the Washington Farm Bureau . Manure, fertilizer use and livestock digestive pro- cesses account for about 7% of Washington’s greenhouse gases, according to the state Department of Ecology. Carbon emissions from farm equipment are lumped in with greenhouse gases from other industrial and com- mercial activities. No major climate change bill singles out agriculture, but the f arm b ureau says the mandates will raise elec- tric rates and transportation costs. “If you increase the cost of our inputs to our farmers, our farms cannot remain economically viable, and so for us, that’s the bot- tom line,” Davis said. “For a farmer, a pickup truck is their No. 1 viable option. They can’t exist taking a city bus. They can’t exist driving a Prius across their farm.” ‘Our moment’ While Carlyle and other Democrats work in Olym- pia, Inslee has launched a run for the White House. “Folks are mobilizing across the country for a green new deal. This is our moment,” Inslee said, kick- ing off his campaign with a rally at a Seattle company that manufactures solar panels. Inslee highlighted the dual agenda — climate change and social justice. “We know climate change is as much a matter of equity as it is a matter of ecology,” he said. During Inslee’s tenure, Washington state’s release of greenhouse gases has increased. Total carbon emissions rose by 6.1% percent between 2012 and 2015, according to a Depart- ment of Ecology inventory ﬁ nished in December. A calculation of 2016 emis- sions is due in December 2020. The increase between 2012 and 2015 coincided with relatively strong eco- nomic growth, but went against goals the Legislature set in 2008 to slash green- house gases. The Great Recession, which began in 2008, had helped diminish carbon out- put, as greenhouse gases slumped from a peak of 108.6 million metric tons in 2000 to 91.8 million in 2012. As the economy recov- ered, however, greenhouse gas emissions rose to 97.4 million metric tons in 2015, according to Ecology. Paris-level emissions would be 18 million metric tons in 2050. Raising smoking age to 21 passes in Washington state Associated Press OLYMPIA, Wash. — A proposal to raise Wash- ington’s smoking and vap- ing age to 21 has passed the Legislature, putting the state on the precipice of becoming the ninth state to make such a change. The bill would raise the legal age for both tobacco products and so-called “vape” products, includ- ing e-cigarettes and other vapor devices, whether they include tobacco or not. The measure heads to Gov. Jay Inslee for his signature. He has said he supports the bill. Lawmakers in the state Senate approved the mea- sure 33-12 Wednesday. It previously passed the House. California, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Utah, Virginia and Oregon have already raised the smoking age inside their borders, as has Guam, according to the American Lung Association and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ON THE RECORD Assault • Around 9 p.m. on Thursday, Thomas Hruska, 65, of Seaview, Washington, was arrested by Seaside police near the intersection of Broadway Street and Roosevelt Drive for fourth-de- gree assault and harassment. PUBLIC MEETINGS Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice. MONDAY Astoria City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St. Style & Service with North America’s #1 Choice! 20 off % Select Signature Series LOTTERIES OREGON Thursday’s Pick 4: 1 p.m.: 4-8-2-7 4 p.m.: 0-2-7-3 7 p.m.: 1-1-9-1 10 p.m.: 0-4-5-4 Thursday’s Lucky Lines: 01- 08-09-15-FREE-20-21-27-29 Estimated jackpot: $23,000 WASHINGTON Thursday’s Daily Game: 2-7-6 Thursday’s Keno: 01-09- 10-13-16-18-20-24-25-29- 31-34-44-59-67-69-72-73- 77-79 Thursday’s Match 4: 01- 04-21-24 Subscription rates Eﬀ ective July 1, 2015 Established July 1, 1873 (USPS 035-000) Published daily, except Saturday and Sunday, by EO Media Group, 949 Exchange St., PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 Telephone 503-325-3211, 800-781-3211 or Fax 503-325- 6573. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Daily Astorian, PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103-0210 DailyAstorian.com MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for republication of all the local news printed in this newspaper. 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