Ross Hunter

Category: Environment

  • EPA Response to Industry Phase-Out of DECA-BDE

    I worked hard (successfully) to eliminate the use of this chemical in Washington. The ban spread to other states. The companies have finally thrown in the towel and are switching to a presumably better product. It’s nice to win one every now and then. DECA-BDE is incredibly bad for children and more than a million…

  • Urban Legends – Emissions based on engine displacement

    In 2006 a senator introduced a bill (SB 6900) that would have charged a vehicle registration fee every year based on the size of your engine and not on the use of the vehicle. The bill did not receive a hearing, did not come up for a vote, and never passed. It does not even…

  • More Toxic Chemicals

    In 2007 I passed a bill I had worked on for 3 years, banning a toxic flame retardant called PBDE in Washington. This year a group of legislators is working on a different compound – Bisphenol-A. It’s found in polycarbonates and other hard, clear plastics, and like PBDE, it damages the reproductive systems of human…

  • 2009 Legislative Agenda

    This year will be particularly difficult due to the national economic disaster. Unlike the federal government, Washington is required to have a balanced budget. Our budget situation is dire, and will require dramatic measures. I try to be organized about how I approach a legislative session, particularly one as difficult as this is likely to…

  • Global Warming – Cap and Trade?

    Last year the legislature instructed the governor to negotiate our entry into the Western Climate Initiative (WCI) and come back with a plan we would have to approve. She has, and now we get to make some very big choices for Washington and the rest of the country. The WCI is a “cap and trade”…