Notes from May 7 meeting

In attendance: Bruce, Catherine, Dorothy, Jim, Yoram.

Policy: There wasn't much said either for or against the new spreadsheet (linked here). Bruce favors $50/ton over $30/ton but also recognizes that there might be political advantages to going with $30/ton, e.g., because that's what BC has done. Bruce also suggested increasing the low-income offset. (I'm still waiting to hear back from my friends at Resources for the Future who are running some numbers on that.)

Website: We agreed that (1) having an internal website (to use, e.g., for signature-gathering volunteers) was more important at the moment than having an external website, but we also agreed that we didn't need either one in order to start reaching out to potential signature-gathering volunteers. FYI, the draft website is here but it's still not ready to go public.

Outreach: We made minor modifications of the email (see below), and this afternoon I sent it out to some folks (including most of the people on the carbonWA email list :) Also Dorothy said she would take the idea back to her group (Citizens Climate Lobby) and Jim said he would spread the word with some colleagues, and also on his widely read e-newsletter when we get our ducks a little more in a row. Thanks to everyone for doing the same!

Next steps: Next meeting downtown is Thursday June 4, 12-1pm. If you want to get more involved between now and then (research/outreach/etc) just holler!

PS. Below is the email asking for signature-gathering volunteers.

Cheers,
yoram

Hi [Pat]: I hope you're enjoying this spring and summer, and I want you to keep enjoying it, but I'm writing to ask for some of your time next spring and summer, i.e., about 10 months from now. Here's the skinny:

* Climate change is not going away, so I'm part of a group that is determined to push a ballot measure here in Washington State if state and federal action continues to stall. Getting on the ballot in November 2010 would mean gathering signatures in February-June 2010, so I'm asking for your help to make that happen. (You'd also be helping one of my dreams come true: I've been serious enough about this that I've practiced over the past few years by personally gathered about 900 signatures each year for a ballot measure I support :)

* We're still working on the policy details, but the gist of it will be (1) imposing a carbon tax of $30-50 per ton of CO2, which amounts to about $0.30-$0.50 per gallon of gasoline or about $0.03-$0.05 per kWh of coal-fired power, with the tax rate increasing over time; (2) using the majority of the revenue to repeal the state portion of the property tax; and (3) using a smaller portion of the revenue to offset impacts on low-income households and perhaps also reduce business taxes and/or increase funding for clean energy research and for K-12 math/science education. FYI this proposal is roughly similar to the award-winning carbon tax currently in effect in British Columbia.

* I am asking for you to commit to gathering 900 signatures between early February 2010 and late June 2010. This will not be super-easy, but it will also not be impossible: at an average signature-gathering rate of 25 signatures per hour (or 100 in a 4-hour shift), that means finding nine friends to join you for just a single 4-hour shift, or finding three friends to join you for three 4-hour shifts, or doing nine 4-hour shifts on your lonesome (which is mostly what I've done during my volunteer efforts these last few years, and it's really not that bad---36 hours goes by fast :). And of course we'll provide you with training and lists of good signature-gathering locations &etc... all we need is your time and enthusiasm!

* Just for the record, what I am really asking for is an _option_ on your time and enthusiasm: If federal or state action makes the ballot measure unnecessary, or if we fail to interest enough people in gathering signatures for the ballot measure, you'll be free to devote your time and enthusiasm elsewhere. But we'd like to count on your participation IF we can drum up a critical mass of support and IF there is no state or federal action by early 2010.

Let me know if you have any questions, let me know if you're game, and thank you!

PS. Please do share this with friends who might be interested, and if you and/or they want to be on our once-a-week email list, the more the merrier :)

Regards,
yoram