We know from the recent election that environmental reform will not come from a federal level, but perhaps we don't need it to. Last year, the governors of California, Oregon, and Washington formed the West Coast Governors' Global Warming Initiative. The initiative has these priorities:
- hybrid vehicle procurement for government fleets
- ports & highway diesel emission reduction
- renewable energy incentives
- energy efficiency improvements
- standardized measurement of emissions to quantify the problem, and the progress
The initiative also formed an advisory group which recently completed the Oregon Strategy for Greenhouse Gas Reductions, and invites comments on it from the public. We've already seen what leverage California alone carries; with more states banding together like this, the leverage could become overwhelming.
