Rick Perry, you might know him as the man who confidently announced that he was going to cut three government agencies – and then forgot the name of the third government agency that he wanted to get rid of. An event which lead to ridicule and sharable youtube videos for the masses. He’s also the man who had his confirmation hearing quite recently as Donald Trump’s nominee to take over and run the Energy Department. So, what do these two things have in common?
First off, the government agency that he forgot the name of was in fact the Energy Department. That’s right, the department that he will now be running. This is worrying in numerous different ways.
Starting with the fact that he forgot the name five years ago. He seemed passionate about it back then, he was loud and confident about cutting those three agencies – how did he forget the name? Surely if he had done his research into it, and had a strong desire to get rid of it after looking into it, then he would be able to remember the name. The fact that he couldn’t, indicates that he was both unprepared and ignorant of the circumstances that surround the department.
More recently there have also been allegations made by the New York Times that while signing up for this job, he did not know that
He would become the steward of a vast national security complex he knew almost nothing about, caring for the most fearsome weapons on the planet, the United States’ nuclear arsenal.
As well as being unprepared for the job, something that has been done before as seen with Bill Richardson who worked within the era of Bill Clinton, he has rocky views on climate change. Some of which follow Trump’s views on the matter. This again, is worrying. He’s going to be in charge of energy, and ignorance in the face of climate change does nobody any favours. Considering how our use of energy is a huge part of climate change, it doesn’t make sense that he doesn’t consider it or make it more known. It doesn’t only affect America, but the rest of the world as well. As articulated by Sen. Al Franken.
I don’t think you’re ever going to be a climate scientist. But you’re going to be the head of the Department of Energy.
While he has attempted to cover his bases by claiming that some of the climate problems that we’re facing today are caused by “man-made activity”, he is still downplaying the issue and almost trying to eradicate it entirely. He says that “The question is how we address it in a thoughtful way that doesn’t compromise economic growth.” Which is a valid point, economic growth is important for all countries but climate change won’t just go away. This is plainly stated by Bernie Sanders:
It’s not a question of balancing this, and balancing that. It is a global crisis which requires massive cuts in carbon.
His department is energy, not economics and he should be focusing on that. More over, he should be looking more in depth into the issue of climate change, and teaching himself the necessary skills to deal with it properly. Climate change is a reality that has been ignored for way too long. Having the Head of Energy refute the claim as well as the President, will do unimaginable harm to the very real and in our face problem.
While in a discussion with Bernie Sanders, he tries to evade the question, acting almost condescending in the face of opposition. He says that having an academic discussion would be an “interesting exercise”, his choice of words dismissing the idea almost completely. This is a dangerous mindset for the people running America to have. When you get rid of climate conversation, you allow it to build into something that is unstoppable.
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