For two years East Shore’s Earth and Climate Action Ministry (ECAM) has supported Washington Can’t Wait (WCW) initiative to update the Growth Management Act to include planning for climate change (HB 1099), housing affordability and equity (HB 1220) , and to close a loophole that allows for “illegal” urban sprawl SB (5042).
When the short session of the legislature closed on March 10, there were two big wins! After a 20-year struggle SB 5042 passed closing the loophole that allowed developers to be granted to development rights even if the expansion area proved illegal on appeal. HB 1220 passed last year but lacked the funding for communities and cities needed to plan for affordable housing and address red lining. Happily, funding was included in this year’s budget.
Sadly, HB 1099 had a different story. This bill would have required planning for climate resiliency and environmental justice. It passed the House but ran into headwinds in the Senate and was basically gutted, removing even the word “climate” and the main metric to measure greenhouse gases which was vehicle miles traveled. It passed the Senate but had to go to Reconciliation-conference as House and Senate versions were different. Due to many phone calls and emails from supporters of the original bill, the original language was restored.!! Yeah, success it seemed was near. The Senate approved the conference-amended bill. It went to the house but was not brought up for a vote before the session ended. Lack of leadership somewhere.
ECAM appreciated the well-organized campaign of WCW and look forward to working with them again.
ECAM is endorcing Trees4Livability: a new nonprofit seeking to update Bellevue’s tree code. Check out the website below. You will be shocked at how lax Bellevue’s tree code is. For example, Bellevue allows developers to cut down 5 Significant Trees without a permit and has no special protections for Landmark Trees which take 100-150 years to grow. Bellevue is the only municipality in the region with such lax policies.
Go to the website to sign a petition to Bellevue City Council to update the tree code and sign up to get involved with protecting trees in Bellevue.
Many of you will recall the day last July when the Lummi House of Tears Carvers blessed us by visiting East Shore bringing their totem pole and stories to share with us. Our site was one of the last stops they made before heading out East to deliver the 24 foot totem pole carved by Master Carver Jewell James to Washington DC. The Red Road to DC Totem Pole Journey brought public attention to the need to protect Native American sacred sites, lands, and waters across the country. Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, the first Native American to hold this position, received the pole, its vision and welcomed the message.
An important element of the journey was a commemorative mural created by Guatemalan social artist. Her collaborative creation involved hundreds of people who contributed images and words to the mural. If you were at East Shore the day of the Totem Pole event, you will recall the 18 x 18 foot canvas stretched out in front of the RE building. During and after the blessing, we were all invited to paint images, visions and symbols of what is spiritually central to our lives and how we connect to Mother Earth.
At the end of the Red Road to DC journey, the Lummi returned to Washington state while Melanie returned to Guatemala where she refined and finished this stunning painting. Its title, “E Ala E”, a Hawaiian expression, refers to the morning sun which awakens us to each new day when we can decide how we will live that day and do right by all—the people in our lives, the sacred earth, land, waters and all living beings.
To learn more about the process of its creation, you can watch this 2 minute video
If you are curious, you can also learn more about Melanie’s approach to her work which this piece expresses so eloquently by visiting her website at: https://www.melanieschambach.com/
Although this painting is finished, in future it will serve as the basis for further communication and events. For instance, plans are afoot to bring this painting to the UU General Assembly in Portland, Oregon in June of this year. Digitizing the painting and its many elements will provide opportunities to interact with, learn about and reflect on the themes it expresses. A coloring book with pages available on the website available for download is in the planning stage as well.
Everyone is invited to contribute to Melanie Schambach’s larger project by donating to the ongoing Red Road to DC Mural project. Please consider donating to:
Red Road to DC Mural
c/o Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship
1207 Ellsworth St
Bellingham, WA 98225
If you write a check make it out to Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship and on the memo line write: Red Road to DC Mural Project.
For more information, contact Deb Cruz at Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship
ESUC’s Earth and Action Ministry has endorsed the Yes to East King County PUD campaign. Many ESUC members and friends signed the previous petition for the 2020 ballot. Due to the pandemic that signature gathering campaign was suspended. You can sign the new online petition to put formation of the PUD on the fall 2022 ballot and learn more about the campaign at http://ekc-pud.org.
Why form a PUD to replace Puget Sound Energy as the electrical distribution utility in East King County?
Cleaner Electricity – Puget Sound Energy’s (PSE) is the dirtiest electric utility in the state, with 66% of its electricity generated from fossil fuel sources. PUDs provide reliable electric power to about 2/3 of Washington households and source over 90% of their electricity from clean sources.
Not-for-profit – PSE customers have some of the highest electricity rates in Washington. Residential customers of PUDs in Washington pay over 20% less than households that buy their power from investor-owned utilities such as PSE.
More reliable service – Instead of maximizing investor returns, a PUD can prioritize customer satisfaction and high reliability.
Directly accountable to customers – PSE is a foreign-owned corporation accountable only to its shareholders and reluctantly to the WA Utilities & Transportation Commission. PUDs are directed by boards elected by the citizens of their service territories.
If you live east of Lake Washington, including Mercer Island, and within or north of the I-90 corridor, you can help put the East King County PUD on the ballot by signing the petition at http://ekc-pud.org.
Founded in 2014, “CENSE is an all-volunteer, grassroots organization that represents thousands of Eastside residents and business owners. We come from many backgrounds, but we all agree that Puget Sound Energy’s (PSE) ‘Energize Eastside’ is a fundamentally flawed project. We have serious concerns about the need, safety, cost and environmental impacts of the 230kV transmission line project and know that there are better solutions to our energy needs.” This 18-mile high-voltage transmission line would run from Renton to Redmond next to 9 schools and 9 churches cut through 13 parks and 29 neighborhoods.
In January, PSE will ask for a permit for its Energize Eastside project in Newcastle.
Send in written comments to Newcastle Hearing Examiner. Go to CENSE website for ideas for relevant comments, where, and when to send comments.
Attend hearings via Zoom. The CENSE website will provide dates, times, and Zoom links. CENSE will testify Jan. 14, beginning 9 am.
Speak up to 3 minutes at public testimony time. See CENSE website for details.
Donate: CENSE volunteers are unpaid, but funds are needed to pay for expert testimony and studies and legal fees. CENSE volunteers have spent innumerable hours to become “experts” in understanding electricity demand on the Eastside and how to prepare for legal proceedings.
by Kristi Weir, Earth and Climate Action Ministry Team
East Shore’s Earth and Climate Action Ministry (ECAM) supports Washington Can’t Wait (WCW) initiative to fight for action on climate change, environmental justice, and housing equity by passing the biggest changes to the Growth Management Act in three decades. Last month we reported on the three bills we hope will be passed in the next legislative session which starts January 10.
What we forgot in that article was to give the link of how to sign up for campaign updates. Once registered you will receive timely emails with links to register your support for these important bills. Sign up for campaign updates.
Contact Kristi Weir of ECAM if you have further questions about WCW or if you want join ECAM.
P.S. Here is a quick summary of the three bills we support.
HB1099 requires planning for climate-resilient communities, addressing environmental justice, and reducing vehicle miles traveled.
HB1220 requires planners to address affordable housing and to end race and income discrimination in housing. This bill was PASSED but failed to have funding appropriated to support the planning process. We need to SECURE that local funding this year.
SB5042 will close a loophole that allows for “illegal” urban sprawl. Currently, during the appeal period for a proposed expansion of a growth boundary, building permits can be issued for the expanded area. If expansion is not approved, the permits are grandfathered in so voila—urban sprawl.
by Kristi Weir, Earth and Climate Action Ministry Team
