Thermal politics heat up

Ask Washington Rep. Jay Inslee about the blazing velocity of events surrounding global warming and clean energy. He has two fast answers: really bad news and really good news.

The Democrat from Bainbridge Island, who has spent six years working on the topics, flatly asserts the science is disturbing and undeniable. He quickly expresses enormous optimism over the rapid-fire developments on technology and policy fronts.

As fast as the ice is melting beneath the paws of polar bears, industry leaders and elected officials are suddenly looking for creative and constructive ways to deal with greenhouse-gas emissions. They also clearly anticipate a manufacturing renaissance to come from solving the most vexing environmental and technical problems.

Mastering the challenges of global warming and prospering from the results is a theme that drives "Apollo's Fire," a book written by Inslee and Bracken Hendricks. The title evokes President John F. Kennedy's brassy commitment to land an American on the moon. The book's subtitle sets out the authors' mission: "Igniting America's Clean Energy Economy."

An enviable achievement of "Apollo's Fire" is to take on daunting subject matter in a readable, approachable fashion. It is descriptive, analytical and full of ideas reflected in House legislation passed last week. A Senate version is waiting for a consensus on a nationwide renewable-energy standard.

The House pushed ahead in five key areas: higher mileage standards; a requirement that 15 percent of energy generation come from renewables by 2020; vigorous efficiency standards for household appliances; a renewable-fuels standard, and an auction-fueled fund to help Americans acquire efficient goods and services.

For Washington residents, the list might inspire more head-scratching than high-fives. This state has been a leader — elected officials, green advocates and voters alike. If the requirement for 15-percent renewables sounds familiar, it mirrors Initiative 937, passed in 2006.

That has been the amazing element of global-warming and climate-change issues in the United States. So much innovation, experimentation and action has percolated from the ground up. Such thermal politics are animating Congress. The Bush administration remains frozen and obstructionist.

Here in the West, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels stepped onto a lonely, empty national stage. His climate policies became a how-to guide for hundreds of cities.

Gov. Christine Gregoire and the state Legislature, with full complements of D's and R's, also led. They were informed, pushed and cajoled by environmental groups that embraced political energy-efficiency to focus their priorities and lobbying efforts. Private investment and entrepreneurial talent bubble up as an artesian spring.

Lately, it has been harder to be smug and parochial. Yes, the New England states organized early, forced to defend themselves against acid rain from middle-America's coal plants. Now they are implementing a cap-and-trade system for carbon dioxide. Western states helped set the bar high on auto-emission standards and the effort was sustained Wednesday in federal court. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, my choice for vice president, has done extraordinary things.

The surprise for me is the strength of the movement away from the coasts. In November, the most coal-dependent region in the U.S. adopted a Midwestern Greenhouse Gas Accord. The governors of Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin, along with the premier of Manitoba, agreed to aggressively reduce carbon emissions.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is the chair of the National Governors Association. The Republican, who helped commit his state to using 25 percent renewables by 2025, chose energy and CO2 emissions for a yearlong NGA initiative. Gregoire is on his task force.

"America is at a tipping point," said Pawlenty, who at midweek was headed to Florida for an alternative-fuels summit on clean transportation. "As has happened at other key moments in our nation's history, the public is ahead of policymakers, with citizens seeking strong leadership for a new direction."

Global warning is real. So are the grass-roots — cellulosic — efforts to reduce the threat.