National environmental groups are no longer attempting to wade through gridlock in Congress. Rather, they are “trying a new strategy for winning battles on climate change and green power: pouring record amounts of money into legislative races in a handful of states.” Politico,
“The multimillion-dollar push by groups like the League of Conservation Voters and liberal billionaire Tom Steyer’s super PAC aims to secure friendly majorities in the legislatures of states such as Oregon, Washington and Colorado. Victories there could help blunt their grim prospects in D.C., where the all-but-paralyzed U.S. Senate may be in Republican hands after November.
“In Washington state, where control of the state Senate narrowly rests with a conservative coalition of 24 Republicans and two Democrats, switching just two seats could put green-minded lawmakers in charge. That would help Gov. Jay Inslee’s chances of enacting a market-based carbon reduction program next year. Environmentalists there also hope to block coal export projects and are increasingly worried about trains carrying crude oil.
“The state strategy isn’t entirely new — last year, greens pulled off a surprising effort to elect friendly candidates to four seats on Washington state’s Whatcom County Council, which will decide on a proposed export terminal that would help U.S. coal find markets in Asia…”
