While there was a lot of conjecture about a potential “Blue Wave” in the 2018 midterms, there was also hope of a “Green Wave” by Left-leaning environmentalists intent on pushing their policies through by the use of craftily-written referendums.

These so-called “green” ballot measures in Washington state, Colorado, Arizona, and Nevada, were primarily focused on restricting, and eventually eliminating entirely, the use of fossil fuels within their borders.

Three out of four of these initiatives went down to a dismal defeat.

One of the most noteworthy of these proposals was Initiative 1631 in Washington, which would have enacted the first-in-the-nation carbon tax or “fee” on carbon emissions of $15 per ton. This proposal was soundly rejected at the polls by a hefty 56.3% to 43.7% margin.

Had it been enacted, the $15 fee on carbon emissions would have started in 2020, then gone up $2 per ton every single year. The Atlantic reports that in 2035, the fee was projected to reach $55 per ton. At that point state lawmakers would have had the option to either freeze the cost in place or continue to let it increase by $2 per year.