TO THE HONORABLE BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED, AND TO THE SECRETARY OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, THE SECRETARY OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, THE UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE, AND THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY:

We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:

WHEREAS, Global climate change is a real and urgent problem caused by human activities; and

WHEREAS, The State of Washington and other states have been and will continue to be negatively impacted by the effects of climate change, including reduced winter snowpack, drought, more frequent extreme weather events, increased frequencies of forest fires and insect infestations, and acidifying oceans that harm shellfish and otherwise disrupt marine ecosystem viability; and

WHEREAS, While actions by individuals, local governments, environmentally minded businesses, states, and other disparate efforts are necessary and important, climate change is nevertheless fundamentally a problem of global scope and is most effectively addressed on an international and global scale; and

WHEREAS, Washington State has already built upon its comparably clean electricity portfolio by enacting a variety of narrowly focused policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions by shifting to cleaner fuel and energy sources and increasing energy-use efficiency; and

WHEREAS, The United States has taken certain nationwide actions that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as increasing the national fuel efficiency standards for vehicles and requiring all states to develop plans under the Clean Air Act to achieve measurable greenhouse gas emission reductions; and

WHEREAS, The United States recently made significant progress towards combating climate change through an accord with China that commits the two nations responsible for the greatest volumes of greenhouse gas emissions to measurable reductions of their greenhouse gas emissions well into the future; and

WHEREAS, In spite of the progress made by these recent actions, the State of Washington and the nation will continue to be increasingly impacted by climate change without additional and significant nationwide and globally coordinated efforts to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions; and

WHEREAS, Taking action to make progress against global climate change is an opportunity for the United States to continue our long history of global leadership and encouraging innovation by providing a strong example for other nations to follow and join; 

NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the United States take unified national action to address global climate change by committing to participating in strong international or global commitments to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of the United States, the Secretary of the United States department of Energy, the Secretary of the United States department of the Interior, the United States Secretary of State, the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.

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