All hands on deck for initiative

Imagine a ship in heaving seas, taking on water. The call goes out: “All hands on deck! Man the pumps!”

One crew member thinks, “I don’t like the captain. He’s on an ego trip.” A second crewmember thinks, “If I don’t get paid something extra out of this, I’ll see that nobody gets anything.” A third thinks, “They aren’t using the pump I was going to design so why should I help work theirs?” A fourth thinks, “I don’t believe this an emergency. I’m not going to lift a finger.” A fifth thinks, “I’m not going to waste my energy on this. I’m saving up for when we get to port!” Looking sideways, they watch the others at the pumps. A wave surges one of the pumpers overboard who vanishes into the stormy foam, a sight quickly put out of mind. The ship rides lower in the water, taking more waves aboard.

There comes a time when the self-interest of competition has to end and the shared interest of cooperation has to begin. We’re there. Support the revenue neutral carbon tax of I-732 and reduce carbon emissions in Washington.

This story was originally published September 23, 2016 at 6:06 PM with the headline "All hands on deck for initiative."