I-732 a good step

I have a young granddaughter. I worry about what her world will look like when she grows up. My generation, I’m 65, has done an amazing job of screwing up our planet. When I was born, there were 2.5 billion people on Earth, this year it will be close to 7.5 billion.

Along the way we drilled, dug and burned ourselves into quite a predicament. Climate change is accelerating and repercussions for future generations don’t look good. NOAA, NASA and many other governmental agencies, including the Department of Defense, have been sounding the alarm for a while now, but Republican congressmen continue their stonewalling.

Initiative 732 is a step in the right direction. It puts a tax on carbon and uses the revenue to help needy people in our state. I know, certain businesses cry and whine that this will hurt our economy. I have heard this same mantra with the passage of every environmental bill from the Clean Air Act to Clean Water Act and on and on. They didn’t negatively impact business in the past and this one won’t either. In fact, it might help the economy.

Jim Harrison

Spokane