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Where Are Specifics of Inslee's Green Plan? by James Scott Yakima Herald, February 2, 2019

To the editor,

Governor Inslee has proposed a lofty goal for state utilities providing 100 percent carbon free energy by 2045. Long on rhetoric, short on specifics. Where do you start Governor?

Green energy’s darlings, wind and solar, are great. Problem? They require a huge environmental footprint to be viable. Currently, their combined output is minimal to Washington’s power gird. Both will highly touted and pursued... as long as the subsidies hold out.

Nuclear power? Deadly radioactive waste is a bit more problematic than carbon emissions.

Coal? Nasty, dirty. Without it the Westside would go dark and cold. Coal fired power plants are the prominent energy source for the west coast’s metropolitan cities.

Let’s consider hydroelectric, a green energy source. The cycle of water is renewable. Correct? Dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers produce a tremendous amount of energy. That energy, however, is not dedicated to Washington. Much is sold to other western states. Can that change?

Natural gas, the cleanest of the fossil fuels. Widely used, reasonably affordable. It is burned off by the tons as a waste product form the oil wells that produce it. A sound energy practice?

I ask again, Governor, where do you start?