Agree or disagree with his conclusions, Danny Westneat regularly offers a must-read column for The Seattle Times. His latest column concerns the audacious "puffery" the City of Seattle has offered in describing itself as "the greenest city in America." He pointed out the Washington Court of Appeals condemed as "mere puffery" (a wonderfully antiquated description) the city's claim to "the Nation's Greenest Utility." 

At issue is the city's three Skagit River dams, all of which lack (and have never included) "any fish passage for salmon, or a hatchery." Yet as the late Senator Doug Ericksen made famous (in certain circles) years ago and as Westneat points out today, "Seattle leaders have continually boasted how green they are while calling for dams to be breached for salmon in other places, such as along the Snake River in Eastern Washingon." 

Westneat also points out that Skagit County government believes they've paid a price for this "greenstanding" in that it blinds the public and policymakers toward the true situation and costs of available trade-offs (Click the column link above for the details). 

His column points out that speech after speech from Seattle-area polticians places Salmon as core to the Northwest identity, yet for decades Seattle has done nothing to alleviate the problem in their midst.  It's a first-rate calling out-- the literary equivalent of a "triple-dog dare" toward those in authority.  

Go ahead and read it.  I double-dog dare you. 

Below: WPC's 2022 Champion of Freedom tribute video of Senator Doug Ericksen. In it, you can hear him call out Seattle for their own environmental issues...