LTE: Green bill never should have required 'arm-twisting'

Thank you to reporters Lisa Stiffler and Chris McGann for their great Wednesday article on the climate change bill. The Climate Action and Green Jobs bill passed in the House and now moves on to the Senate. Why, however, did it come down to "arm-twisting" by the governor to push the bill through? The bill would help our state economy become more sustainable and would help adapt to a changing environment. It would help create jobs and draw businesses to both sides of the Cascades.

We need to reduce our reliance on imported sources of energy for a wide variety of reasons, and what better way to do that than to draw manufacturers of alternative energy technologies to this state? Then we get the benefit of having an "in-house" source for our energy needs as well as the economic benefit of adding more working wage jobs to the state. As a native Washingtonian who intends to stay here for life, I appreciate that the governor and the Legislature are thinking ahead past the next election cycle and taking responsibility for preserving our beautiful natural heritage for those who will live here long after all of us have passed on.

Bethany Van Etten
Seattle