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Founded in January 2009, PubliCola is a blog about Seattle written by journalists who are dedicated to non-partisan, original daily reporting that prioritizes a balanced approach to news. Started by longtime local editor and award-winning reporter Josh Feit, PubliCola is the first online-only news site in state history to get media credentials to cover the state capitol.

PubliCola was off and running. In June 2009, PubliCola hired another award-winning journalist, super-sourced Seattle city hall reporter Erica C. Barnett.

People were afraid that blogging would change journalism. Instead, we believe journalism can change blogging. Twenty-first century journalism may look and feel different, and yes Erica isn't afraid to get cranky, but we're committed to making sure online news still delivers independent, reliable, even-keeled coverage. And most of all, we're committed to making sure the coverage sparks honest civic debate.

Bringing you cola for the people, PubliCola is named after Publius Valerius PubliCola, the alias for the authors of the Federalist Papers—the original bloggers.

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The first online-only news site in state history to get media credentials to cover the state capitol and Seattle city hall, PubliCola has been called a “must-read” by the Seattle Post Intelligencer and a hot “New Media Mover and Shaker” by Seattle Magazine—which also cited our own Erica C. Barnett as the city's No. 1 news nerd.

PubliColaTV: Sen. Cantwell on Status of Her Cap and Dividend Proposal

Politics, That Washington   August 10, 2010 at 1:42 pm Bryce McKay

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvWYXvcyfGU[/youtube]

While I had U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell at the podium this morning (post coming soon about the news conference she and U.S. Sen. Patty Murray held to hype the Democrats’ small business aid bill), I took the opportunity to ask her about Cap and Trade/Cap and Dividend—something that PubliCola has has been obsessing over. And Cantwell too. She met with President Obama to pitch her climate change legislation in June and even made a funny video explaining her legislation. (Which has since been taken down.)

The Economist (which Josh affectionately termed “the most credible magazine on anyone’s coffee table,”) called her Cap and Dividend bill “a simpler, more voter-friendly version of cap and trade.” Essentially, the bill would put a ceiling on carbon emissions. Corporations in the fossil fuels biz would have to buy permits at auction, and that money would be distributed evenly among the American people—and according to Cantwell, that could mean a thousand dollars or more per year for a family of four.

So where is it now? (Her Democratic colleagues in the house, like U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, who ushered a big deal climate change bill through the House over a year ago, are getting pissy.) Cantwell says she plans to take up the fight again when they return from the August recess. She also said she’s counting on Susan Collins (R-ME) to talk some of her Republican friends into voting with them.

The punch line: Cap and Dividend will heat up in January when the EPA revises its greenhouse gases regulations.




  • Jakers

    Let's hope Cantwell is successful!

  • J Enevoldsen

    Indeed.

  • Pine Grove

    I just hope the people who were backing the monstrosity that was cap-and-trade for sincere reasons finally realize it's dead, and dead for good, so that they can start coalescing around a simpler, more transparent, better alternative. Cap-and-dividend is one such alternative. Frankly, I'd like to see more of the revenues from carbon fees go toward cutting the payroll tax, but just by making sure most of the funds go back to the people in one way or another, that's the essence of what's great about cap-and-dividend.

    We have the power in this country, through some very simple policy shifts, to simultaneously tackle our crushing employment and environmental and national security problems, and yet, aside from a few voices, we seldom hear about those shifts. Thank you, Senator Cantwell, for being one of those voices.

  • http://twitter.com/VoteSizemore Scott Sizemore

    Interesting cap and trade permutation. I kind of like it.

  • Jakers

    Originally I thought that it should be used to reduce income taxes, but since a cap (possibly ever-shrinking) is placed on pollution, revenue might eventual fall, which would then require an increase in income taxes and would be unlikely to happen if it happens under a different administration.

    The best thing about it is the public would be compensated for selling a public resource as opposed to giving it away and letting traders make the money off of it.