American coal producers, suffering under the weight of Obama administration regulations, have sought to export their fuel to Asia, hoping that a new hub of proposed export terminals along a stretch of the Pacific Northwest could serve as their industry’s economic lifeline. Instead, local activists have shot down almost every project, adding a western blockade to what President Obama’s critics have called the “war on coal.”
And on Election Day, this state may go further, with a vote on a first-of-its-kind ballot initiative to tax carbon emissions — a policy that most economists say is the most effective way to tackle global warming. Across the country, both advocates and opponents of climate change measures are watching closely to see if the Washington ballot initiative will herald national efforts to fight global warming through higher taxation of fossil fuels.
