Although 99.9% of the 8 billion people living on Earth do not live in the State of Washington, the state believes 0.1% of that population can change the world’s climate. Washington State climate laws, like those in California, are not based on science; they will not only bankrupt state coffers but will have no effect on the world’s climate. Washington’s climate policies are anchored by three key laws.

1. The Climate Commitment Act (CCA) is a cap-and-invest program, modeled after California’s law, that sets a declining cap on greenhouse gas emissions for major “polluters”.
2. The Clean Energy Transformation Act requires utilities to phase out coal by the end of 2025, reach greenhouse gas-neutral electricity by 2030, and hit 100% clean energy by 2045.
3. The Clean Fuel Standard mandates gradual cuts in the carbon intensity of transportation fuels.

The Climate Commitment Act (CCA), which currently adds 66 cents/gal of diesel and 52 cents/gal of gas, has collected $1.5 billion dollars since its introduction in 2023, yet has had zero effect on emissions or climate. Most of the money has gone to more studies and hiring more government employees.

The Washington Policy Center has challenged spurious figures and exaggerated claims by the WA State Ecology Center. The CCA also claims it directly benefits “vulnerable” groups while investing in fire, flood, and extreme heat, despite the evidence that forest fires and flooding have been declining before such spending. Evidence clearly shows that more people die from extreme cold than heat, so the money is inappropriately applied. Any warming may be saving lives; the state’s effort to restrict heating with fossil fuel will endanger the very population they claim to protect.

The Washington Net Zero Green Energy Ideologists are OBLIVIOUS to the reality that the “Energy Transition” is only an “Electricity Transition”.

Policymakers have yet to understand that Wind Turbines and Solar Panels have limited capabilities:

1. Wind and solar CANNOT make any of the transportation fuels demanded by airplanes, trucks, merchant and cruise ships, construction equipment, and vehicles.
2. Wind and solar CANNOT make any of the more than 6,000 products made from fossil fuels for today’s materialistic society and economies around the world.
3. Wind and solar ONLY generate electricity under favorable weather conditions.

Washington policymakers need to become Energy Literate and participate in conversations about electricity, transportation fuels, and the more than 6,000 products made from oil derivatives manufactured from raw crude oil.

Energy literacy starts with the REALITY that the economy runs on transportation fuels.

• Jet fuel for the military and international airports,
• Diesel fuel for trucks and construction equipment,
• Different grades of gasoline for vehicles, and
• Bunker fuel for all the ships arriving and departing from Ports.

In addition, raw crude oil, once processed through refineries, provides the basis for more than 6,000 products in our materialistic society that are made from those oil derivatives.

Data Centers, hospitals, airports, and telecommunications require continuous and uninterrupted electricity that wind turbines and solar panels CANNOT provide.

Wind turbines and solar panels can ONLY generate electricity, but CANNOT make any of the products or transportation fuels MADE FROM oil.

Currently, Washington State has five major oil refineries clustered in the Puget Sound region. They process roughly 638,000 barrels of crude oil per day sourced from Alaska, Canada, and North Dakota to supply the Pacific Northwest (PNW) with gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, which has a total population of approximately 14 million people across its core U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho

Companies are required to assess their carbon emissions, a very costly exercise. UW, WASU, and companies will spend a million dollars each year, pass the cost on, then bid on credits, which are reduced every year. The intention is to punish the use of fossil fuels, forcing companies to find alternative sources of energy. Every year, credits are reduced, forcing the bidding to increase the cost of gas. (The CCA currently adds 52 cents to each gallon and diesel as well, contributing to inflation).

More recently, the former governor, Jay Inslee, has tried to blame current Eastern Washington fires on climate change, yet a Spokane man was arrested who reportedly was caught setting the fire and confessing to starting 25 fires in the past year. The man planned the fire for two weeks, researched a weather app for ideal conditions, and researched a serial arsonist named John Orr. Furthermore, evidence shows that forest fires on nationwide federal forest land have markedly decreased since 1900, despite rising CO2 levels.

Today’s atmospheric CO2 is about 420 ppm, compared to a historical average of 2000 ppm and preindustrial levels of 180 ppm. Carbon dioxide is vital for photosynthesis; levels below 150 ppm would likely eliminate all plant life, a major food source, and threaten human survival.

• High carbon dioxide concentrations have been linked to increased global greening and species diversification. Greenhouse operators often raise CO₂ to about 1,000 ppm to stimulate plant growth. Carbon dioxide is an essential gas, not a pollutant.
• Carbon dioxide levels can reach 5,000 ppm in a submarine underwater for a month but are typically scrubbed to prevent hyperventilation or drowsiness.

To reiterate, Washington policymakers need to become Energy Literate and participate in conversations about electricity, transportation fuels, and the more than 6,000 products made from oil derivatives manufactured from raw crude oil. Once they are energy literate, they can reverse the “Washington State Exodus” of an ongoing migration of high-earning residents, entrepreneurs, and major business owners leaving Washington State. Critics and business groups attribute this movement of capital flight to those new progressive policies.

Please share this information with teachers, students, and friends to encourage Energy Literacy conversations at the family dinner table.