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December 19, 2014
On December 17, Washington Governor Jay Inslee (D) unveiled the Carbon Pollution Accountability Act for Washington State, which includes a carbon cap, a low-carbon fuel standard, and incentives for renewable energy sources. Faced with a growing deficit, as well as a 2008 state mandate to lower state agencies’ greenhouse gas emissions, Gov. Inslee’s proposal is expected to generate $1 billion in the first year alone. While Inslee recognizes that consumers may see an increase in costs initially, the program’s overall goal is to shift the state to a low-carbon economy, which would eventually save them money “It's impossible for [companies] to pass along the cost of carbon when consumers aren't using any,” he noted.
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U.S. Forest Service Meets 2014 Forest Restoration Goals
On December 16, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that more than 200,000 tons of biomass in federally-owned forests have been removed through the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) to be used as renewable energy in 19 facilities across 10 states. These diseased and dead trees – often referred to as ‘hazardous fuels’ due to their ability to fuel some of the most dangerous forest fires, have accumulated in National Forests and lands controlled by the Bureau of Land Management following decades of fire suppression rather than controlled burning. Prolonged heat, drought, and increased pests are making the situation ever more pressing. The BCAP program allows the Forest Service to partner with farmers, ranchers and foresters to deal with forestry residues that would otherwise be costly to remove. According to the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), under the BCAP program (which provides $12.5 million annually for biomass removal), USFS has met its forestry restoration goals for fiscal year 2014.
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