A new business on the Left coast is making an awful lot of annoying noise about climate change (previously known as global warming). The rich irony is that this business is housed in the Climate Pledge Arena – sitting atop a floor of ice. It’s the playing home of the National Hockey League’s new expansion team, the Seattle Kraken.
It’s no wonder the Kraken are so passionate about the dubious and alarmist hysteria of so-called climate change. They stink at hockey – with just one victory in their first six games.
The name of Seattle’s arena was inspired by “The Climate Pledge,” a joint effort in 2019 by Amazon and Global Optimism seeking signatories who would commit to “net zero carbon across their businesses by 2040—a decade ahead of the Paris Agreement.”
The Paris Agreement was a legally binding international treaty on climate change adopted by 196 parties meeting in 2015 which “entered into force” in November of 2016. Its goal was to “limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.”
In a tug-of-war between conservatives and leftists, former President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Agreement in 2017. On President Joe Biden’s first day in office, he rejoined the agreement.
The Climate Pledge Arena’s official website has little to say about professional hockey. It has plenty to say about climate change:
“The naming rights for Climate Pledge Arena was secured through a partnership between Amazon, Oak View Group, and Seattle Kraken. It is the first net zero carbon certified arena in the world and will harness the power of sports and entertainment to inspire change on the climate crises. … Our goal is to be the most progressive, responsible, and sustainable arena in the world. It might sound ambitious—but that’s the point.”
The arena devoted to climate nonsense is covered by a roof recycled from the Seattle Center Coliseum/Key Arena (where the Seattle SuperSonics played before moving to Oklahoma City and becoming the Thunder). This will allow the arena “to consume less embodied carbon than most other new arena construction projects and while reducing landfill waste.”
Naturally, the Seattle climate fanatics are highly concerned with how much fossil fuel the fans will burn just getting to the arena, as well. The arena website states: “Our goal is to be the leader for responsible, efficient, multi-model transportation choices. To do so, we’re working to ensure our guests have access to a diverse set of transportation choices that will reduce our emissions and improve access to the arena.” Could a diverse, emissions-reducing mandate for Kraken fans be around the corner for this so-called “progressive” project in Seattle? It wouldn’t be surprising.
Among those transportation alternatives is biking. “Climate Pledge Arena has many protected bike lanes nearby,” the arena website boasts. Safe bike lockers are located inside a nearby garage, along with 170 short-term bike racks in the arena plaza area. Or PC hockey fans can propel themselves to a game via scooter and park it in a bike rack. There’s nothing like the experience of taking a bike or scooter to a hockey game in the cold, driving, winter rain in Seattle come December and January.
The Seattle fans are in for a real treat this season: a little hockey to go with a lot of climate hot air.
