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 STATE, AND TO THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL, AND TO THE SECRETARY 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, Washington state and its trade partners in Alaska and Montana are energy-rich due to the contributions of unionized and other blue collar workers that deserve a future in Washington state's economic climate; and

WHEREAS, Petroleum refiners create more than 26,000 jobs in Washington state, contribute four hundred twenty-four million dollars in state taxes and reward nearly one billion seven hundred million dollars in personal income; and

WHEREAS, Refinery jobs pay average annual wages above $80,000 and create an additional 10.68 jobs indirectly through increased economic activity at ports, in aerospace and maritime industries, on farms, and embedded within Washington's remarkable supply chain; and

WHEREAS, Washington consumers use 61 percent of our refined fuels in-state for vehicular, industrial, and jet fuels, and export 39 percent of our state's refined fuels on international markets including toward impoverished nations; and

WHEREAS, Increased fossil fuel production will lower market prices for fossil fuels, making them more obtainable by energy-poor nations; and

WHEREAS, One-half of the world's population lives in energy poverty that Washington state legislators can help eliminate; and

WHEREAS, Globally, one in five people lack access to electricity and two in five people lack clean cooking facilities; and

WHEREAS, The world's deadliest environmental issue, killing 4 million people annually and constituting more than 50 percent of premature deaths among children under five years, is poor indoor air quality resulting from those living without electricity who are forced to burn biomass inside of their homes; and

WHEREAS, International economic development, including opportunities for industrial growth, better education, healthier lives, and representative government, are only created with an adequate and reliable power source, and fossil fuels are the world's most abundant, available, and reliable energy source; and

WHEREAS, Eliminating the exploration, drilling, refining, and trading of fossil fuels in energy-rich states like Washington and Alaska in order to prevent unsubstantiated claims of environmental harm whilst inflicting energy poverty's direct, measurable, and lethal risks upon human populations in developing nations is not moral, socially just, nor economically wise; and

WHEREAS, Taxpayer dollars spent mitigating unsubstantiated claims of environmental harm by fossil fuels are taxpayer dollars not spent supporting the labor jobs that rely on fossil fuels; and

WHEREAS, This year the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found temperatures rising 90 percent less than models had predicted, specifically, Zengchao Hao et al found decreasing drought affliction, and Weinkle et al found decreasing frequency of tropical cyclones; and

WHEREAS, Taxpayer dollars spent imposing an artificial market for other expensive energy forms are dollars not spent curing energy poverty using fossil fuel energy; and

WHEREAS, The Center for Global Development finds that investment in gas electrification lifts nearly four times more people out of poverty than renewable energy, while the International Energy Agency finds photovoltaic and wind energy provide for merely 0.4 percent of consumption now and will account for only 2.2 percent in 2040; and

WHEREAS, Those governing energy-rich areas who argue for policies that will suppress petroleum production in favor of unsubstantiated claims of environmental harm both deny existing unionized and other blue collar workers a claim to the fruits of purposeful employment and very likely will deprive the energy-poor of opportunities for life, liberty, and prosperity that the energy-rich have enjoyed for centuries;

NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the President, Executive Branch Agencies, and Congress take all steps necessary to assist Washington State in supporting the labor sectors' and fossil fuels industries' efforts to build domestic and international prosperity via free markets, to lift struggling populations out of poverty, and to facilitate an international marketplace that bolsters the fulfillment, peace, and welfare of each trade partners' communities.

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 State, the United States Attorney General, the Secretary of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.

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