• Climate & Clean Energy
  • Educating Voters
Recently, voters on the Eastside have been receiving calls from excited, yet mysterious, youths wanting to discuss the impacts of climate change in Washington State on behalf of Washington Environmental Council. If you find yourself wondering, “who are these well-spoken, environmental young callers?” and “why do they care about my thoughts on climate change?” please allows to introduce ourselves!

We are seven fellows from the Washington Bus: a progressive, non-partisan organization that is dedicated to getting young voters engaged and excited about the political process. As a part of our summer fellowship, we have been assigned to campaigns with organizations, such as with Washington Environmental Council, to learn the ins and outs of field organizing. The past two weeks, our phone bank coordinator has organized four events where we have surveyed Eastside residents on matters related to climate change in Washington State.

We have made over 8,500 phone calls, surveyed 238 people, and recruited 58 people to sign on as future volunteers!

So what makes this survey so exciting? Recently, Governor Jay Inslee appointed a Carbon Emissions Reduction Taskforce charged with providing recommendations for the design and implementation of a market-based carbon pollution program. Such a program would make Washington state a global leader in fighting climate change, attract billions of dollars in clean energy investments, save consumers money, and create tens of thousands of new jobs in areas such as energy conservation and clean energy production. In addition, Governor Inslee has joined with the governors of Oregon and California as well as the premier of B.C. to propel the climate leadership of the west coast – the fifth largest economy in the world.

If this sounds like a good idea to you – or you find yourself wanting to get involved – we want you! Please visit WEC’s website page to let us know you are interested and we will keep you up to date on future opportunities such as community events, phone banks, and other outreach. If we can build a committed movement of grassroots leaders, there is no challenge that we cannot overcome!