Seattle Considers Climate Change Warning Labels on Gas Pumps

The city council might require stickers on pumps to inform motorists that burning fuel harms the environment.

October 13, 2015

SEATTLE – Next time customers fill up at a Seattle gasoline station, they might be confronted with a sticker informing them of their contribution to climate change. The Seattle City Council will likely look into requiring gasoline stations to slap stickers on pumps to warn motorists of the dangers of burning fuel, the Seattle Times reports.

Two California cities—Berkeley and San Francisco—already require similar stickers at the pump. The Seattle City Council contacted San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors to applaud the group for adding the warnings. “Like you, we are feeling the effects of climate change acutely. Wildfires are raging in Eastern Washington and our hydro-powered utilities are suffering from less water flow than in previous years,” read the letter from the Seattle City Council.

Seattle Councilmember Mike O’Brien is working on legislation using San Francisco’s ordinance as a model. “The idea [of the stickers] intrigued me,” he said.

Eight council members added their signatures to the San Francisco letter, but not every councilmember agreed with the decision. Councilmember Tom Rasmussen objected to the legislative approach. “What I would suggest first before regulating businesses would be to talk to the businesses … to see whether they would, on a voluntary basis, put labels like this on the pump handles,” he said.

The Western States Petroleum Association hasn’t indicated whether it would fight such an ordinance in Seattle. The association has argued that the stickers, since applying them to pumps would advance a political opinion, are unconstitutional.

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