Washington Governor Jay Inslee on the Power of Local Action
Jay Inslee believes in the power of local action—even in overcoming national pushback.
'Right now, we know these are hard days. We've got a person in the White House who must have been scared by wind turbines as a young man,' the three-term Democratic governor of Washington State said at the 2025 TIME Earth Awards on April 23. 'But despite the bad news coming out of Washington, D.C., we have a magic vehicle for progress that is the states.'
Despite the President withdrawing the U.S. from the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and dismantling climate initiatives across the country, 'Donald Trump cannot stop a state from defeating climate change,' Inslee said.
In 2021, Inslee signed into law Washington's Climate Commitment Act, which requires the state's largest polluters to cap emissions and purchase allowances for the amount they pollute, which the state reinvests into clean energy. He has passed laws requiring a 100% clean—meaning generated from renewable or zero-carbon resources—electrical grid by 2045, invested billions of dollars into solar power and electric vehicles, and launched state programs to help businesses and residents transition to clean energy.
President and CEO of American Forests, the oldest forest conservation non-governmental organization in the U.S., Jad Daley, who presented the award to Inslee, said Inslee's leadership is 'needed now more than ever.'
'The Governor's leadership in Washington State alone would merit this award,' Daley said. But Inslee 'went a pivotal step further' in 2017—when Trump first tried to withdraw from the Paris Agreement—by co-founding the U.S. Climate Alliance, a coalition of 24 states that pledged to maintain pace with the goals set forth in the accord. Member states include Michigan, where Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed into law an extensive climate package in 2023 that would push the state towards 100% clean energy by 2040, and Maine, where Gov. Janet Mills has signed multiple clean energy and solar power bills.
'The cheapest electricity today is clean energy,' Inslee said. 'We are the answer to inflation, to give people cheap, inexpensive, clean energy.'
Inslee ended on a call to action.
'This is the United States, and every one of those states has the capability of advancing clean energy and fighting climate change,' Inslee said. 'I'm tired of playing defense. We need to play offense right now.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Zohran Mamdani ripped for refusing to recognize Israel as Jewish state: ‘Dangerous point of view'
Jewish leaders condemned Democratic socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani Thursday for his repeated refusals to recognize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state — slamming it as a disqualifying and 'dangerous' point of view. 'It's more than problematic,' said Joseph Potasnik, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis. 'Jews see this as a dividing line. 'There are 22 Arab Muslim states,' Potasnik noted. 'In Mamdani's world, there isn't room for one Jewish state. He doesn't want a Jewish State.' Mamdani, a pro-Palestinian state Assembly member from Queens who has supported the BDS movement to boycott Israel, has repeatedly been dogged by the issue as he campaigns for the Democratic mayoral nomination. During Wednesday night's NBC 4 NY-Politico primary debate, Mamdani hedged and again refused to answer the question. 'I believe Israel has a right to exist,' he said. 'As a Jewish state?' the moderator pressed. 'As a state with equal rights,' Mamdani replied. But when Mamdani was asked to clarify during a Thursday morning interview on Fox 5's 'Good Day New York,' he said he opposes Israel's right to exist — as a Jewish state. 'Because I'm not comfortable supporting any state that has a hierarchy of citizenship on the basis of religion or anything else,' he told anchor Rosanna Scotto. 'In the way we have in this country, equality should be enshrined in every country in the world.' Fellow Queens Assembly member Nily Rozic, who was born in Israel, said, 'He doesn't recognize the Jewish state and its right to exist — a method of dehumanizing the Jewish people and a way to sow unnecessary divisions in society.' She added: 'That's a dangerous point of view for any elected official, let alone one who aspires to be mayor.' Brooklyn Assemblyman Kalman Yeger, who is also Jewish, said that Mamdani's refusal to acknowledge Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state was not all that surprising. 'Not at all shocking that the most prominent antisemite running this year can't bring himself to acknowledge the right of the Jewish state to exist. His hatred for Jews is boundless,' Yeger said. Democratic National Committee delegate from New York Robert Zimmerman, a pro-Israel Jew, said Mamdani's answer on 'Good Day' was chilling. 'Mamdani clearly disrespects the memory of the 6 million Jews lost in the Holocaust and further empowers those who engage in antisemitic rhetoric and violence,' Zimmerman told The Post. Like the Democratic Socialists of America that back him, Mamdani is a staunch foe of Israel and even supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against the Jewish state. Jewish civil rights groups such as the Anti-Defamation League said the BDS movement smacks of antisemitism because it seeks to harm the world's only Jewish State. Mamdani is running second in recent primary polls to ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo on Thursday was endorsed by the Far Rockaway Jewish Alliance, the largest Orthodox Jewish group in Queens — a sign that the more conservative ultra-orthodox Jewish communities will back his candidacy.
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
National Guard arrives in Los Angeles as fallout from immigration raids continues
California National Guard troops arrived in Los Angeles on Sunday in a show of force following scattered clashes between immigration agents and protesters and amid a widening political divide between California and the Trump administration. The move by President Trump to activate nearly 2,000 guardsmen marked the first time since 1965 that a president has deployed a state's National Guard without a request from that state's governor. The decision was met with stern rebukes from state and local officials, including Gov. Gavin Newsom who said the deployment was "not to meet an unmet need, but to manufacture a crisis." Newsom's office on Sunday afternoon sent a formal letter to the Trump administration asking them to rescind their deployment of troops. "There is currently no need for the National Guard to be deployed in Los Angeles, and to do so in this unlawful manner and for such a lengthy period is a serious breach of state sovereignty that seems intentionally designed to inflame the situation, while simultaneously depriving the state from deploying these personnel and resources where they are truly required," the letter reads. On Sunday afternoon, there were tense moments outside a federal detention center in downtown L.A., with officers firing tear gas and nonlethal rounds at protesters. But other areas that had seen unrest over the last few days, including the Garment District, Paramount and Compton, seemed calm. It was unclear exactly how many troops were deployed to Los Angeles as of Sunday afternoon. The National Guard's 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, based in San Diego, said Sunday that 300 personnel were on the ground to protect federal property and personnel. Trump administration officials have seized on the isolated incidents of violence to suggest wide parts of L.A. are out of control. On Sunday, Trump took to social media to claim 'violent, insurrectionist mobs are swarming and attacking' federal law enforcement. "A once great American City, Los Angeles, has been invaded and occupied by Illegal Aliens and Criminals," he wrote, blaming Democratic politicians for not cracking down earlier. While officials have not said how long the immigration enforcement actions will continue, Trump told reporters Sunday, 'we're going to have troops everywhere. We're not going to let this happen to our country." Many California officials, who have long been at odds with Trump, say the president was trying to exploit the situation for his political advantage and sow unneeded disorder and confusion. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the deployment of federalized troops a "chaotic escalation" and issued a reminder that "Los Angeles will always stand with everyone who calls our city home." While most demonstrators have gathered peacefully, some have hurled objects at law enforcement personnel, set garbage and vehicles on fire and defaced federal property with graffiti. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Los Angeles over the past week has resulted in the arrest of 118 people, including some who have been convicted of drug trafficking, assault, child cruelty, domestic violence and robbery, according to the agency. Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin and Republican politicians who support Trump's immigration actions have characterized the protests as riots intended to "keep rapists, murderers and other violent criminals loose on Los Angeles streets." On Sunday morning, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) addressed roughly two dozen National Guard soldiers posted outside the Metropolitan Detention Center on Alameda Street. She had arrived at the center to inquire about Service Employees International Union California President David Huerta, who was injured and detained while documenting an immigration enforcement raid in downtown Los Angeles on Friday. "Who are you going to shoot?" Waters asked the solders. "If you're going to shoot me, you better shoot straight." Remnants of tear gas used by law enforcement during protests Saturday lingered in the air around the building, at times forcing Waters to cough. Waters, an outspoken critic of the president, called the deployment of National Guard troops an unnecessary escalation of tensions and accused Trump of "trying to make an example" out of Los Angeles, a longstanding sanctuary city. Leonard Tunstad, a 69-year-old Los Angeles resident, rode his bike up to the edge of the loading dock where troops were stationed and asked them if they really wanted to be loyal to a president that "had 34 felony convictions." He said he felt compelled to shout facts about Trump at the guardsmen because he feared the young men have been 'indoctrinated against their own citizens.' Tunstad said he believed the deployment was a gross overreaction by the Trump administration, noting the city has been home to far more raucous protests that were handled by local police. 'This is just a show. This is just a spectacle," he said. A Department of Homeland Security officer approached one of the louder demonstrators saying that he 'didn't want a repeat of last night' and didn't want to "get political." He told protesters as long as they stick to the sidewalk and don't block vehicle access to the loading dock there wouldn't be any problems. Later, DHS and California National Guard troops shoved dozens of protesters into Alameda Street, hitting people with riot shields, firing pellets into the ground and deploying tear gas to clear a path for a caravan of DHS, Border Patrol and military vehicles to enter the detention center. Jose Longoria struggled to breathe as clouds of tear gas filled Alameda Street. He pointed to a white scuff mark on his shoe, saying that a tear gas canister had hit him in the foot, causing him to limp slightly. "We're not armed. We're just peacefully protesting. They're acting out,' Longoria said of the officers. Julie Solis, 50, walked back and forth along Alameda Street holding a Mexican flag and urging the crowd to make their voices heard, but to keep the scene peaceful. She said she believes the National Guard was deployed solely to provoke a response and make Los Angeles look unruly to justify further aggression from federal law enforcement. 'They want arrests. They want to see us fail. We need to be peaceful. We need to be eloquent," she said. National Guard troops were last summoned to Los Angeles and other Southern California cities in 2020, during the George Floyd protests. Those deployments were authorized by Newsom. However, the last time the National Guard was called on by a president without a request from a state governor was 60 years ago, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to Alabama to protect civil rights demonstrators. Antonio Villaraigosa, former speaker of the California Assembly and a former L.A. mayor, said Trump's move was "meant to incite more fear and chaos in our community." 'Trump's military-style mass deportation ICE raids in California have gone too far, tearing families apart and threatening public safety," he said in a statement. "The raids at stores and workplaces are wrong, just as it's wrong to separate families with raids at schools, graduations, and churches." In Paramount, a group of camouflaged National Guard troops were stationed in a business park with armored vehicles where a Department of Homeland Security office is located. Jessica Juarez walked along Alondra Boulevard with a trash bag full of spent tear gas canisters on Sunday morning. Her voice grew hoarse as she helped a group of volunteers clean up after clashes between protesters and law enforcement the day before. United States Attorney Bill Essayli told NBC in an interview that an officer suffered a broken wrist and others were injured by rocks and cement block pieces that were thrown at them during Saturday's protest. He said it was "an extremely violent crowd," but officials are "undeterred." An acrid odor still hung in the air from the gas and flash bang grenades law enforcement fired on protesters Saturday, while scorched asphalt marked the intersection outside a Home Depot where federal authorities had staged. "I'm proud of our community, of the strength we showed," said Juarez, 40. "It's like they put so much fear into Paramount and for what? These guys didn't even clean up after themselves." The images of Paramount shrouded in smoke and flanked by police in riot gear are unusual for this community of about 50,000 residents. In many ways, the city became the starting point for the escalating federal response. "What else do you call it but an attack on Paramount and the people who live here?" said resident and union organizer Alejandro Maldonado. "People in the community were standing up to unjust immigration policies." For some, the fight between Los Angeles residents and the federal government is akin to David and Goliath. "It really does seem like they wanted to pick a fight with the little guy," union organizer Ardelia Aldridge said. Staff writer Seema Mehta and Brittny Mejia contributed to this report Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump Blasts LA Protests in Late-Night Truth Social Rant
President Donald Trump slammed protesters in Los Angeles challenging the administration's roundup of immigrants by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Violence erupted Friday afternoon when police arrested dozens of protesters outside a federal building in downtown Los Angeles, where immigrants had been detained following ICE raids across the city earlier in the day. The Trump administration dispatched an estimated 2,000 National Guard personnel to quell the ongoing demonstrations. 'Great job by the National Guard in Los Angeles after two days of violence, clashes, and unrest,' the president wrote in the early-morning hours Sunday morning. Trump baselessly claimed that the 'Radical Left protests' had been carried out by 'paid troublemakers,' saying the unrest 'will NOT BE TOLERATED.' The president also took aim on Sunday at California Democrats Governor Gavin Newsom, whom Trump has called 'Newscum,' and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass for being 'unable to to [sic] handle the task' of keeping the peace in the city. His comments echo earlier remarks by Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, who on Saturday firmly laid the blame for the ongoing unrest at the Democratic Party's feet. Noem has earned the nickname 'ICE Barbie' for dolling up for ICE raids and taking photos in front of detained migrants, among other publicity stunts. 'What do we do when we have guys like Hakeem Jeffries standing up in front of the world and saying it's ok to write 'Kill ICE', it's ok to throw things at law enforcement officers? It's not ok, not in America,' Noem said in an interview with Fox News. It follows after Jeffries publicly called for the ICE agents who 'physically accosted' Democratic representatives outside a detention center in Newark last month to be identified and held to account over the incident. Trump also railed against the use of face masks to shield from identification. 'From now on, MASKS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED to be worn at protests,' Trump posted, although presumably in reference to demonstrators rather than the ICE and Department of Homeland Security agents who routinely do so in order to conceal their faces from the public. 'What do these people have to hide, and why???' Trump raged.
