Rep. Upthegrove's testimony to the EPA panel in Seattle regarding greenhouse gases

On May 21, Rep. Upthegrove testified before an EPA panel at Bell Harbor Conference Center in Seattle.  His testimony was one of nearly 200 given by those in attendance.  The EPA plans to list greenhouse gases as dangerous toxins, and the public was invited to testify on the decision.

Note:  You may also read about Rep. Upthegrove's testimony and Governor Gregoire's executive order related to greenhouse gas reductions on The Advance.

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Good morning. My name is Dave Upthegrove. I have the honor of serving as Chairman of the House Ecology and Parks Committee in the Washington State Legislature. And I enthusiastically support the EPA’s findings.

I’m convinced the vast majority of Americans will applaud your findings when they learn about them.

That’s certainly true in Washington, because Governor Gregoire is right: Washington’s unique natural environment make environmental values come naturally here.

In my case, the high school and college summers I spent teaching environmental science and leading hikes through the North Cascades taught me a life-long love of our clean air, wildlife and natural beauty.

But my academic work in environmental science—and everything I’ve learned while leading the Ecology & Parks Committee—have also taught me to fear for our environmental health.

There is not a shadow of a doubt that greenhouse gasses threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations, or that motor vehicle emissions are a major contributor.

And the threats are not on the horizon. They’re here now.

Our farms and our forests, our fish and our future are endangered now.

To take a single example, our entire state—including our hydropower—depends on abundant water from mountain snowpacks. Yet, as Governor Gregoire said, University of Washington Scientists have shown that climate change is already reducing Cascade Range snowpack by twenty percent.

That’s happening right now, as we speak, and without immediate action the snow-pack trend lines point to disaster.

And yes, motor vehicles are literally fueling the threat.

I’ve read that Administrator Jackson found that emissions from on-road vehicles amount to 24 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions nationwide. Here in Washington, the causal contribution is even clearer: on-road vehicles account for nearly half of our total emissions. And more vehicles can only mean worse problems ahead—until decisive action is taken soon.

The EPA findings are exactly the kind of decisive step we need to move forward.

Let me close with one last point:

Washington is blessed to have great leaders for the environment—including Governor Gregoire, Climate Solutions, the Washington Environmental Council, and many others.

But what America needs is national leadership. We need the Obama administration to change the political climate, so we can unite as a nation to protect the global climate.

President Obama and Adminstrator Jackson have made a good beginning, but we must follow through, and soon.

Leaving our carbon footprints on the backs of our children and grandchildren would be an unforgivable moral crime.

Future generations have a right to experience good health and the awe and life-long love of our environment that many here in this room have enjoyed.

Whether they do or not, is up to us.