President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and former Texas Governor, Rick Perry, as the next Secretary of the Department of Energy. Some observers have noted that the nominations of Pruitt and Perry suggest that Mr. Trump intends to follow through on campaign promises to pursue energy policies supporting the development of fossil fuels. Pruitt and Perry each hail from states with strong oil and gas industries and both are known for their at-times skeptical views regarding the EPA and DOE, respectively.
Mr. Pruitt describes himself as “a leading advocate against the EPA’s activist agenda.” As Attorney General of Oklahoma, Scott Pruitt has filed or joined in on a number of lawsuits against the EPA, including the case challenging the Clean Power Plan in the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Trump’s Transition Team, however, considers Pruitt to be “an expert in Constitutional law [who] brings a deep understanding of the impact of regulations on both the environment and the economy.” By selecting Pruitt, Trump’s administration signaled it intends to return the agency to its “essential mission of keeping our air and our water clean and safe.”
As Governor of Texas, Rick Perry oversaw a state that is among the nation’s leaders in oil and gas production and now is also a leading wind energy state. But the Department of Energy does not produce a lot of energy. Rather, DOE’s mission is heavily focused on managing the nation’s nuclear energy, weapons, and cleanup as well as funding research and development to produce and use cleaner, more efficient energy. Some have questioned whether Perry, without the scientific background of past secretaries of energy, will have the necessary expertise to set R&D and nuclear policy.
As per Rick Perry, the nuclear waste discussion is likely to see renewed interest. The Secretary of Energy will have oversight of a potential renewal in funding to the Yucca… Read more »
Sometimes the most powerful, accurate mathematical model says that there is a lot of uncertainty; those who claim great accuracy may be making that claim based on limited information and… Read more »
President Trump and his nominees offer the potential for entering an era of increasingly clean, abundant and sustainable energy and economic growth that moves past the constraints put into place… Read more »
I have not had time to investigate this myself, but I believe that the recent National Academy of Sciences meeting on the 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident had a… Read more »
I expect little, because when an administrator is opposed to the mission of the agency, he/she is soon bogged down in bureaucratic infighting and bad press. Rick Perry will learn… Read more »
I expect that both Perry and Pruitt will follow the policies set b the White House. In the case of Perry I believe he will rely on the expert advice available… Read more »
While it’s possible (though I think unlikely) that the administration will do some positive things for climate under the guise that they are good for business, we should not forget… Read more »
Expecting complete rollback of EPA Clean Power Plan with state RPSs and carbon reduction goals driving the clean energy agenda and renewable project development such as solar, storage and wind.… Read more »
So much in Washington is symbolic rather than rational. Both political parties label their favorite and least favorite technologies. Republicans are against subsidies for renewable energy but look the other… Read more »