Glen Reaux
“I love the smell of napalm in the morning…smells like victory.” This famous quote by actor Robert Duvall is from the movie Apocalypse Now. It is a commentary on the destructive power unleashed upon North Vietnamese soldiers and the pleasure Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore received from the carnage of this action. Similarly, Secretary of Energy Rick Perry expressed his joy during a 2016 presidential debate when he forgetfully declared that he would disband the Department of Energy if he were elected president. When Rick Perry made his infamous comment, he did not understand that the first responsibility of the department is the maintenance and oversight of our nation’s nuclear arsenal. While the reference to an Apocalypse may not be apparent at first glance, consider the fact that President Trump has appointed the one person that openly pledged to destroy the department of energy as head of the Department of Energy. What right thinking person would make such an appointment? Will this appointment lead to an apocalypse within the Department of Energy or will it cause a policy crisis that will trigger an energy apocalypse on a national scale or both?
President Carter graduated from the US Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1946 and then served as an officer on US submarines. President Carter’s military background and degree in science provided him with an enlightened insight into nuclear energy, both its destructive and constructive potential and the need to develop a strong national nuclear policy. In August of 1977, President Carter signed into law The Department of Energy Organization Act of 1977 which created the Department of Energy (DOE). This new law effectively merged the Federal Energy Administration, the Energy Research and Development Administration and the Federal Power Commission President Carter cited the 1973 oil crisis as motivation for a national energy policy to secure the future of the country. Under the Carter administration, the DOE became responsible for long-term, high-risk research and development of energy technology, federal power marketing, energy conservation, energy regulatory programs, a central energy data collection and analysis program, and nuclear weapons research, development and production. In the early 1990s, after the end of the cold war, the mission of many of the weapons manufacturing sites changed to environmental remediation. In 1989, Energy Secretary James Watkins established the Office of Environmental Management to mitigate the risks and hazards posed by nuclear weapons production.
Energy Secretary Rick Perry is the former governor of the state of Texas, the largest oil producing state in the country. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in animal science, he has worked as a cotton farmer and Agriculture Commissioner of Texas. Why was he appointed Secretary of DOE? There is nothing in his career or education that provides any credentials or experience in nuclear or any other form of energy. However, while serving for 14 years as governor, Perry received hard-money campaign contributions of $102 million, half of which were from 204 special interest donors. In 2003 Perry signed into Texas law a bill creating the Texas Enterprise Fund which according to the New York Times, awarded $435 million dollars in grants to businesses and their chief executives that made campaign contributions to Perry or the Republican Governors Association. In 2007 Perry issued an executive order mandating that Texas girls receive the HPV vaccine. Merck, the vaccine’s manufacturer with apparent financial ties to Perry and had contributed $28,000 to his campaigns. Due to staunch opposition and public outrage, a lawsuit followed and in May 2007, the Texas legislature passed a bill undoing the executive order. Still, the question remains, why Rick Perry?
In 2012, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) a government-owned, contractor-operated facility funded by the Department of Energy published the Renewable Electricity Futures Study. The study found that by 2050 eighty percent of the nation’s electricity could be provided by such renewable sources as wind turbines, solar photovoltaic’s, solar power, biopower, geothermal, and hydropower. These are existing clean energy technologies that could slow global warming and climate change helping to avert the impending ecological and climate apocalypse caused by our addiction to fossil fuels like petroleum and coal. This report funded by the department of energy sparked a renewed push towards national energy independence while taking measures to mitigate, stop and reverse climate change. Other substantial benefits of renewables provide positive impacts for our health through a reduction in carbon emissions while boosting our economy through the creation of new industries and jobs. Most renewables don’t require water for cooling, thus dramatically reducing the water requirements for power production compared to fossil-fueled power plants. As opposed to petroleum based products such as napalm, this truly “smells like victory.”
Prior to the NREL 2012 Renewable Electricity Futures Study, the incoming Obama Administration funded nearly $90 billion for renewable energy from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Throughout his administration, Obama actively supported the offshore wind energy industry, and in 2016 oversaw the first offshore wind farm coming online. The Obama administration promoted energy savings by implementing fifty efficiency standards leading to saving consumers $550 billion on their utility bills. And, in 2015, a bi-partisan congress extended renewable tax credits for solar and wind. These policies led to a 300% increase in wind power and an astonishing 2,500% increase in solar power production. Also, the cost of wind power was reduced by 41% and roof top solar cost dropped by 51%. Much like Jimmy Carter, these actions were not only sound energy policies, they were unprecedented and revolutionary economic and environmental policies. The 2012 NREL report was merely a scientific confirmation that renewables are the way of the future.
On March 2, 2017 Rick Perry, the man that pledged to destroy the DOE was sworn in as the 14th Secretary of Energy. This appointment came with marching orders and a new vision for America’s energy future from Donald Trump and his Republican Party. One of the first acts of the Perry led DOE was to remove the NREL 2012 Renewable Electricity Futures Study from the governments website. In December of 2017, the secretary announced a new structure which would move away from the Obama administration’s focus on clean energy to energy dominance via strong support for the petroleum and coal industries. The secretary has also proposed subsidizing coal and nuclear energy producing plants, two non-renewable sources that are also raise major environmental pollution concerns. In further support of fossil fuel industries, President Trump withdrew from the Paris Accord and repealed the Clean Power Plan. The President has also increased the leasing of public lands for fossil fuel exploration and production. Regulations have also been rolled back on hydraulic fracturing, mining and off shore oil and gas exploration. The very controversial Keystone XL pipeline which transports extremely hazardous oil from Canada to the gulf coast which was blocked by former President Obama has now been approved by the Trump administration. In November of 2017, this pipeline created a 9,700 barrel oil spill while still under construction. The spill affected near by farmland. Are this administrations pro fossil fuel policies due to incompetence by the Secretary of Energy? Is it a blatant disregard for science? Or, is there an alliance between our DOE and fossil fuel industries?
According to leading scientist, economist and the DOE funded NREL Study, all of these policy changes will have negative impacts upon the environment, economy, public health, welfare and security of our country. This administration, through Secretary Perry and former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has very strong ties to big oil. It also appears to “love the smell of napalm in the morning…” and the impending apocalypse. “…smells like victory!”
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