March 2024-Conservation
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- Last Updated: February 21, 2024
by Tim Manns
March 7th is the final day of the Washington State legislative session. The mere sixty days of these alternate year sessions allow little time for bills to pass. At this mid-February writing, some Audubon Washington priorities did not meet deadlines in the legislative calendar and are no longer under consideration for this session. Still moving forward is House Bill 1368, requiring and funding the purchase of zero emission school buses (Washington State Legislature). Most school buses are diesel-powered and pose health risks to children as well as contributing to climate change. Quickly transitioning from fossil fuels is essential to slow global warming. Electrifying school buses is a significant step towards changing all public vehicle fleets to electric power. Why is this an Audubon issue? National Audubon research has identified climate change as the number one threat to birds, with many species on a trajectory towards decline and possible extinction in North America (Birds & Climate Change Report | Audubon). Transportation accounts for about 40% of Washington State’s greenhouse gas emissions, the single largest source (GHG inventories - Washington State Department of Ecology).