Poker Face

I would like to describe to you a recent meeting I attended. I thought it would be interesting and fun to watch Snohomish County PUD officials describe their plan to place big honkin' tide turbine generators in our pristine unspoiled waters.

I must admit that the PUD people had positive upbeat attitudes. Their smiling optimistic faces were a distinct contrast to the forbiddingly-grim-face humorless folks who showed up to protect our quality of life.

I think the best way to describe to you what happened is to pretend that the meeting was one of those poker games that seem to play continuously on almost every cable channel. So here is my commentary on the game.

The cards have been dealt. The players sit and listen to power company representatives make the first round bet. They are tentative about their hand, a little uneasy. After all it's just a study to see if tidal generating turbines can be placed in Cattle Pass and Spieden Channel without harm to the environment. Because if harnessed, the currents running through our islands could produce about half the power needed for all of San Juan County. They place a couple of chips on the table for the opening bet.

The invited players are anxious to bet. The County Council goes first. They don't need to come out strong. They know that other players hold all the cards necessary to win the hand. So, as long as nobody actually puts anything in the water to study it "We call the bet."

The Port will be concerned about shipping traffic and hazards to navigation. They also need to know how the port will be used to accommodate maintenance vessels. They call the bet.

Environmental groups are next. " So, you think that the turbine blades turn too slow to chop salmon into sashimi? What if our whales and marine animals bump into the big blades? What about the disturbance of the seabed, antifouling paints, leaking lubricants? We raise the bet!"

Advisory groups are next to call and raise their concerns. Turbines could "harass" fish and marine mammals. What about the transmission lines? More chips come out and the pot grows.

It's the Indian Tribes turn to bet now. Little do the other players know that the soft-spoken tribal representative holds 4 natural (native) aces and a wild card in the hole (commonly referred to as a treaty).

It is hard to show a poker face in this situation. The Tribe's representative gives away his hand in the first round. It will be hard to prove that no fish migrate through Cattle Pass and Spieden Channel. That will be what any study must prove. Game over. Everybody should fold now.

Then I pipe-up and ask, "Have you calculated the odds or probability of ever obtaining a permit to generate power in our waters?" What I really wanted to say was, "Why don't you fold your loosing hand and not spend another dime on this you dummies!" But I didn't.

Here is the paraphrased answer to the prior question:
Since there are mandates for power companies to generate more power from renewable sources we are exploring every possibility imaginable. Even though we know we are bluffing here with this dream of building underwater turbines that block endangered salmon migration routes and harass Orca Whales and other species with Federal protection we have to show that we tried. Once we exhaust all the possibilities we will invest in and build big wind farms east of the mountains where there are fewer people who will object.


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