Re: “How WA’s drought strains the Yakima Valley” (Nov. 16, Climate Lab):
In fiscal year 2024, the Washington Legislature spent about $472 million on various climate and equity focused projects. Sadly, many of those projects are lacking in any measurable benefits. A giant bureaucracy is growing up around the use of these funds, but it largely ignores perhaps our state’s most obvious and pressing climate related crises — the drought that is ravaging Eastern Washington farms.
Saving our state’s critical water capture and distribution system may require upward of $1 billion in long-term investment in order to save a $4.5 billion annual industry. What better way to invest these funds than saving our agricultural heritage?
Bob Stevens, Seattle
