Oh dear , Rick Perry ’s back in the intelligence . If you are lucky enough to not know who this is , then it falls to us to introduce you to him .
This is the man who is blend to be in charge of theDepartment of Energy(DoE ) , which handles research into muscularity growing , nuclear power , clean energy resources , and – most of all – maintaining the US nuclear weapons program and waste electric pig .
There are a few problem with this . First and foremost , as reported by theNew York Times , this strange buster ab initio thought he was taking on a function as a “ worldwide ambassador for the American oil and gas industry . ”
This isnot what the DoE handles at all , not even closelipped . Of course , he ’d love to be able-bodied to do this in Trump ’s climate change denying regime , especially as so many fossil fuel organization – admit thelargest coal group in the US – post him so much money on a relatively even basis .
Sadly , he will not be an ambassador in this fashion at the DoE. Faced with this deadly usurious scholarship curve , Perry will be more akin to a Gaul being give controller over a infinite post . It will not go well .
It ’s also deserving sharpen out that Perry once wish to abolish the DoE , which makes it slightly weird that he ’s now being put in commission of it .
In a televised argumentation during the 2012 election cycle , he famously declared he wished to abolish three departments – Education , Commerce , and Energy – since no one has any use for these . He also rather wondrously forgot the name of the last one , even after other Republican nominees chime in to assist him out .
In the remnant , he just shrug and said“oops ” , which was one of the many , many reasons he failed to get the Republican nomination when all was enunciate and done .
It must be underscored that he will be interchange one Ernest Moniz , the former chairman of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology aperient department . Moniz himself was the successor to Steve Chu , a research worker from Stanford University that won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997 .
Perry , for his part , study brute agriculture at university , which as we all known is extremely relevant to atomic weapons . He is also akeen professional dancer , of sorts .
But did Perry just perform a noteworthy about - turn ? As reported byCNN , he say today that he regret call for the office ’s reasoning by elimination .
“ After being briefed on so many of the full of life functions of the Department of Energy , I rue recommending its elimination , ” he said during his Senate confirmation hearing .
When it amount to climate alteration , however , he said that “ some of it is naturally occurring , but some of it is also make by man - made activity . ” suggestion : contemporary climate modification is , by a massive allowance , due to human activity .
Still , although he is firm refusing to take the overwhelming skill that climate change is a dominantly man - made phenomenon , this is a balmy improvement from read that climate scientist are engaged in adata use conspiracyin parliamentary procedure to procure monetary resource . He is , very sorely , heading in the right direction .
Perhaps most encouragingly , Perry note that he will “ urge and promote American Department of Energy in all forms , and that include renewables . ”
Investment in renewable vigor ? Wonderful – except , of trend , he pronounce “ all forms ” , which presumably include a lot of coal and oil .
More than anything else , this press waiver makes it sound like he is somehow still hoping to be an fossil oil and gas ambassador . Again , this isnot the point of the DoE , but Perry gets full marks for persistence .
[ H / T : New York Times ]
