LETTER: Vote for Initiative 732 to help save birds and thus the planet

The measure on a carbon tax would help deter burning fossil fuels, the main contributor to climate change.

Climate change is one of the biggest threats facing birds today.

More than 180 species that occur in Washington state are listed as threatened or endangered in Audubon’s 2015 Birds and Climate Change Report.

Our local ducks and hawks (and even the tiny rufous hummingbirds) could shift their habitat ranges northward or even go extinct in the coming decades if we don’t take action.

This year’s election offers Washington voters a unique opportunity to do just that.

Take action and help save birds by voting yes on Initiative 732.

I-732 — a tax on carbon pollution — is proven to reduce carbon pollution from burning fossil fuels, the main contributor to climate change.

By implementing this tax swap, the revenue collected from the carbon pollution tax will be rebated back to Washingtonians through:

• A 1 percent reduction in our statewide sales tax.

• Tax breaks for businesses.

• Additional rebates for low-income working families.

While passing this initiative will not complete the work that needs to be done to help mitigate the effects of climate change that we are already seeing here in our state, such as increased wildfires and changing ocean chemistry, I-732 will help move Washington state forward as a leader in enacting solutions that birds and wildlife need for survival in a warming world.

When birds thrive, we all thrive.

Join me in voting for I-732 as a positive action now for future generations of birds and humans.

Robert Sextro,

Sequim