o      educational reform and funding,

o      catching up on transit and transportation infrastructure and

o      keeping a careful eye on our overall fiscal policies, revenue and spending alike. 

   

We're at the Redmond Derby Days, July 12, 2008.

We will continue to have a tough time with housing issues as along as we see them apart from the associated issues of transportation, land use and energy policy. While the Puget Sound Regional Council acknowledges the inter-relationship, our ability to formulate and execute policy that actually addresses these problems continues to be insufficient to the task.

I have just returned from an extended trip overseas, including stops in Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia.  As a result of what I saw and learned during these past few weeks - plus having a lot more time to read and think than I normally have - I am more committed than ever to the need to reduce our reliance on foreign fuels and work toward a healthy, sustainable environment for our children and grandchildren.

One of the frustrations of my first term was dealing with the tendency of the advocacy groups to approach environmental and energy issues with a good-guys-versus-bad-guys attitude.  Jared Diamond, in his book "Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed", contemplates the fragility of our planet and the huge problems we face.  He writes:  "My view is that, if environmentalists aren't willing to engage with big businesses, which are among the most powerful forces in the modern world, it won't be possible to solve the world's environmental problems."  Amen to that.