Members of the Seattle City Council have joined with extreme “green” activists to loudly voice concerns about Larry Weis, Mayor Ed Murray’s nominee to head the city’s utility. Apparently, they do not feel Weis fits in with the environmental utopian vision they have for Seattle – he just isn’t “green enough”. The Seattle Times reports:
“Environmental groups are opposing his confirmation, saying Weis isn’t the clean-energy visionary the city needs to lead City Light…
“The local Sierra Club chapter and climate-justice organizations 350 Seattle and Rising Tide Seattle have asked the City Council to reject Weis. Councilmember Kshama Sawant, who chairs the council’s energy committee, shares their reservations.”
Socialist Sawant said of Weis, “His record as an environmental leader just isn’t that impressive.” Of course, if given the opportunity to be candid, Weis (and tens of thousands of others) would say the same about Sawant’s record as a city council member.
As head of Austin Energy, Weis was on track to increase the utility’s power mix from 5 percent renewable energy when he first arrived to 55 percent by 2018. So, clearly socialist Sawant’s excuse for not supporting him is a tad ridiculous.
And what of the “reasoning” behind the greenies attacks on Weis?
Well, Weis’ record in Austin also reveals that he once disagreed with environmental extremists who were part of a citizens’ task force. Via the Seattle Times:
“The task force recommended replacing an existing natural-gas plant with 600 megawatts of solar power, while Weis recommended replacing it with 500 megawatts of solar and a new 500-megawatt natural-gas plant.
“‘Solar cannot replace natural-gas-fired power plants today,’ he said in an Austin Energy news release at the time. ‘It’s the other way around: very efficient, combined-cycle natural-gas plants allow us to add solar to meet environmental goals and remain affordable. Solar is a good thing. The task force wants too much of a good thing.’”
So local greenies are concerned that Weis would favor continuing to put science and economics before their utopian vision of a world with no fossil fuels while managing the city’s utility In other words, Weiss’ unforgiveable sin is the chance he will be guided by reality in trying to make sure the lights stay on in Seattle.
