Washington state already has a very low carbon dioxide emission rate per person.
There are 40 other states that are worse, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
There are even two states that have five times more carbon dioxide emissions per person than Washington state.
One state has more than 10 times the rate we have.
These states should be addressed first, not Washington state.
The sponsors for I-732 claim that the tax encourages businesses to conserve or switch to clean energy by making fossil fuels more expensive.
Industry in this state only contributes 17 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions, according to the EIA.
And 54 percent of the state’s emissions comes from transportation, according to the EIA.
So anyone who drives will end up paying the majority of this new tax.
I doubt this will cause anyone to drive less, and thus the end result is no reduction in emissions.
I-732 will only increase red tape and regulations with a minimal impact on reducing emissions.
What you will get is bigger government.
No one has even addressed the cost to implement and maintain this new tax.
Gary Fring,
Sequim