Governor Jay Inslee: “We Can Defeat Climate Change!”

On Friday, Oct. 13, Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington State visited Green River College to give a talk on the various effects of climate change going on in the state.

Inslee’s talk took place at 1 p.m. in the River Room of Mel Lindbloom Student Union. He was preceded by Monica Paulson Priebe, a faculty member for the natural resources unit of the college’s Forestry department, and Matthew Hepner, the executive director of the certified electrical workers. 

Priebe described the work that the Green River Natural Resources department did with the DNR (Department of Natural Resources) of the state to help preserve the 200 acres of land that is shared by the college and the DNR. “We have been working very closely with the Washington State DNR to help manage these lands in a way that not only that helps the landscape and helps it adapt to things like climate change but also really dives in and helps our students understand what land management means in the face of environmental change, population growth, and all of those other constraints,” Priebe said. 

Hepner talked briefly about the possibility of fossil fuels, stating, “We can literally be the first state to be entirely fossil fuel free for utility generation.”

Inslee’s talk began with a recount of the retracting of the United States from the Paris Agreement, an agreement that helped reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

“A couple of weeks ago I was at the United Nations meeting with the secretary of the United Nations, at the same time I met with my old friend Al Gore, and the former secretary of state John Cary, 36 hours after the president pulled us out of the Paris Agreement. I worked with Gov. Brown of California, the Gov. Cuomo of New York. We had stood up with the United States Climate Alliance – 15 states that are moving forward to meet our Paris Agreements with or without Donald Trump.”

The Trump administration drawing out of the Paris agreement and dropping other climate change efforts have kicked other states into action.
The visit to the college was spurred by the desire to meet students interested in solving climate change.

“These are the people who understand the science of what it takes to keep our forest healthy… To defeat climate change. These are the people who are going to help my state to make sure that we fulfill our destiny to lead the world in the fight against climate change,” said Inslee. 
Inslee, however, was partially inspired by the many wildfires raging through the state of California at the moment. “In the last 72 hours, 1,800 homes in California have been torched,” Inslee said. “We don’t know how many people have lost their lives in these fires, and we know that these fires are (not only) in the future of Washington, but they’re in the present of the state of Washington.”

The last two summers in Washington state have been the hottest ones yet and have sparked forest fires and droughts around the state, though they have mostly been centered in Eastern Washington, devastating local families, and wildlife. “So what do we do about it? Here’s the thing I think we need to think about climate change: we have to have a ‘can do’ attitude, an optimistic attitude, and a confident attitude,” Inslee said. 
“Here’s why I’m confident in our ability to defeat climate change: It is because we’re starting to do it, here in the state of Washington. Here in the state of Washington, we have adopted some really smart policies to limit carbon pollution.”

Inslee also listed multiple ways that Washington was using its efforts to build its economies, such as the solar panel industry in Bellingham, and carbon fiber industry in Moses Lake. “We have proved that you can build your economy and fight climate change at the same time. Anyone who says otherwise can come here to Green River College and talk to these bright, ambitious students who are getting ready to do jobs.”

Inslee mentioned reducing carbon pollution in the state of Washington, and creating some sort of legislature to help reach the states carbon pollution cap, which was implemented in an executive order. 

“We need the legislature to act, to give us some additional tools at our disposal to try and reduce carbon pollution. I’m working with legislators across the state in designing what might be the next steps to be able to increase our war against carbon pollution.”

Before opening the room up for questions on the issue, Inslee ended his talk with a positive message to the students and faculty. “I have found that everyone in this room has real power. You don’t have to be governor to have real power. Everyone in this room has the ability to influence someone else in their family or in business or a state legislator, and I hope you’ll find a way to do that because this is a real all-hands on deck deal.”