Wednesday, October 25, 2006
My letter to the editor
Last week, I wrote a letter to the Columbian editorial board because they recommended a "no" vote on the voter initiative for which I have been campaigning. I-937, the Clean Energy Initiative. My letter was published this Tuesday, Oct. 24th.
My letter:
As a high school student, I cannot vote. If I could, I would vote yes on I-937.
Whichever direction Washington state voters decide to take when it comes to generating electricity, it will be my generation that will have to live with it. It is absurd to imagine at any level that money right now outweighs the future health of this planet and its inhabitants.
Relying on more fossil fuels is not an acceptable road to take. Renewable energy is competitive; conservation and efficiency gains are the most economically viable ways to deal with an energy shortage, yet a new coal power plant is planned for Kalama. We, as a state, lack only the political will to make the investment in clean energy. We need a plan.
I-937 is a plan for the future. Relying on market demands is a plan for the present.
We share a moral obligation to preserve our planet for future generations. My generation is counting on voters in this election to leave us with a plan. We depend on voters to start addressing the issues now that future generations will be left to fix. Rather than debating global warming, we must start dealing with it. To borrow a phrase from Robert Kennedy, “If not now, when?”
What do you all think about renewable energy and the state of the planet we are about to inherit?
My letter:
As a high school student, I cannot vote. If I could, I would vote yes on I-937.
Whichever direction Washington state voters decide to take when it comes to generating electricity, it will be my generation that will have to live with it. It is absurd to imagine at any level that money right now outweighs the future health of this planet and its inhabitants.
Relying on more fossil fuels is not an acceptable road to take. Renewable energy is competitive; conservation and efficiency gains are the most economically viable ways to deal with an energy shortage, yet a new coal power plant is planned for Kalama. We, as a state, lack only the political will to make the investment in clean energy. We need a plan.
I-937 is a plan for the future. Relying on market demands is a plan for the present.
We share a moral obligation to preserve our planet for future generations. My generation is counting on voters in this election to leave us with a plan. We depend on voters to start addressing the issues now that future generations will be left to fix. Rather than debating global warming, we must start dealing with it. To borrow a phrase from Robert Kennedy, “If not now, when?”
What do you all think about renewable energy and the state of the planet we are about to inherit?
# posted by Brian Tang @ 5:40 PM 
