Today, Governor Jay Inslee acted on what has become an unhealthy obsession and issued an executive order that creates a “Carbon Emissions Reduction Task Force.” It is the job of the task force to come up with a “plan to reduce carbon pollution and promote clean energy through the use of newer energy technologies.”
Members of the task force won’t have a whole lot to do. For the task force’s convenience, Inslee outlined a six-point action plan by which they must recommend policies. Debate and deliberation shouldn’t take up much time either—the task force includes a diverse perspective of individuals who all happen to agree with Inslee’s climate change politics or who stand to financially benefit from Inslee’s agenda. They include King County Executive Dow Constantine, KC Golden of Climate Solutions, Jeff Johnson of the Washington State Labor Council, Kimberly Harris of Puget Sound Energy and executive Colin Moseley of Green Diamond Resource Company. Inslee excluded any farm group… or any person that might offer a contrary perspective for that matter.
You see, a task force charged with recommending actions and policies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions already exists. It is called Climate Legislative and Executive Workgroup (CLEW) and it was created by the state Legislature in 2013. CLEW’s problem is that it includes those capable of providing an alternative point-of-view. Well on his way toward becoming our nation’s “greenest” governor, Inslee simply does not have time for old-fashioned deliberative, reasoned debate on policies or scientific studies (as we learned here).
The point? The task force is really, with the exception of Green Diamond’s Colin Mosley, just a bunch of second-string puppets Inslee can hide behind while acting as first-string puppet for billionaire Tom Steyer’s extreme “green” agenda.
Inslee does seem to have picked up a trick from his billionaire buddy. Taking a cue from Steyer, Inslee appears to believe that as long as you say you will respect transparency, you don’t actually have to. After promising that his new group “will conduct its business in an open, transparent manner, and its meetings will be open to the public,” Inslee proceeded to hold Carbon Emissions Reduction Task Force’s first official meeting… without telling anyone prior to its start.
Our green, green governor.