Save your home from high water

Until a few years ago, scientists estimated the rise in sea level would be about three feet by the end of this century. An article the Washington Post published Aug. 6, describes the events that have led to a doubling of this estimate. Sea levels are now expected to rise six feet if our present level of greenhouse gas production continues to rise at the rate it is going.

A six foot rise in sea levels would submerge almost one in 50 home in Washington State (Zillow Research, August 2, 2016). Much of the state is well above the sea, but the area around Puget Sound is not. What should we do?

A critically important opportunity is available to us — Initiative 732.

Initiative 732 will be up for a vote this November. It places a tax of bad stuff (greenhouse gas emissions) and reduces the tax of good stuff (state sales tax, some business tax). It will help assure that the State of Washington meets its carbon dioxide emission targets for 2050 and will reduce the tax burden of low income Washingtonians

The I-732 program has been favorably reviewed and vetted by independent observers. Read about it in the I-732 website, yeson732.org, or talk to I-732 volunteers at public events and at public places in the next few months.

This story was originally published August 13, 2016 at 6:50 AM with the headline "Save your home from high water."