Washington state Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, who ran for his party's presidential nomination on a climate-change agenda, sees the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity "to peddle a solution to climate change."
In a virtual town hall hosted by Sen. Bernie Sanders, Inslee said the crisis, during which he has implemented some of the nation's most stringent stay-home orders, "has always been an economic opportunity."
The governor's remarks at the town hall Wednesday, called "Saving our Planet from the Existential Threat of Climate Change, were spotlighted by longtime Seattle talk-radio host Dori Monson of KIRO FM.
"We should not be intimidated by people who say you should not use this COVID crisis to peddle a solution to climate change," Inslee said.
"We can't use COVID as an excuse for inaction on climate change ... they're both so similar .... based on an understanding of science."
Inslee's climate-focused presidential bid drew 0% support among Democrats, Monson pointed out. And now "with our state's workers and business owners looking at what could be decade-long financial ruin, he has decided to continue down that insane path."
The governor's stated reliance on science has been widely challenged.
The Washington Policy Center, a conservative think tank, analyzed a series of dials called the "COVID-19 Risk assessment dashboard" released by Inslee reflecting the data he claims to be using to make decisions about reopening the state economy.
The governor told reporters the purpose was to be "completely transparent with Washingtonians about how we are making these decisions," promising his decisions are "based on data and science."
However, the think tank found four problems: "The dial settings do not match the underlying data trends. There is no data for some of the dials. The dials are extremely imprecise, and some of the metrics the governor uses are meaningless."
On Thursday, the state's most populous county, King County, recorded no new coronavirus deaths in a 24-hour period for the first time since March 7, reported local KOMO News.
During his campaign for president, Inslee introduced his own "Green New Deal," featuring a pledge to convert the country to 100% carbon-neutral electricity by 2030 and to mandate that all new buildings, cars and buses emit zero carbon.
Inslee has drawn national attention for a requirement in his new statewide orders that Washington restaurants offering sit-down service create a daily log of all customers.
The log, to be maintained for 30 days, must include telephone and email contact information and the time the customers were in the restaurant.
Inslee wants the information to facilitate contact tracing.
The governor also was the target of a lawsuit that forced him to amend his March order banning religious gatherings of any size, including one-on-one Bible studies in homes.
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