Trump announced Saturday that he nominated Wright to run the Department of Energy, an executive of a fracking company who has fiercely criticized the existence of a climate crisis and the transition to renewable energy sources. (Gage Skidmore/CC)
By THE STAR STAFF
Outgoing independent Rep. Luis Raul Torres, who conducted numerous energy-related probes in the House, criticized President-elect Donald Trump’s selection of Chris Wright as Energy Secretary on Sunday because it would revert policies favoring the use of renewable energy over fossil fuels.
“The voice of reason calls us to reflect on the recent nomination of Chris Wright as Secretary of the Department of Energy, a decision that seems to be a nod to the powerful oil and natural gas industries rather than a commitment to a sustainable energy future. Wright, known for his open support of fossil fuels, represents an apparent setback in the advances made in producing energy through renewable sources,” he said through his X account.
Trump announced Saturday that he nominated Wright, an executive of a fracking company who has fiercely criticized the existence of a climate crisis and the transition to renewable energy sources, to run the Department of Energy. The Trump administration is expected to shift the department’s focus away from clean energy initiatives championed under outgoing President Joe Biden.
Torres said the burning of oil and natural gas perpetuates a toxic energy model that affects people’s health, contaminates the environment, and chains present and future generations to exorbitant energy prices. “Who benefits from this dependence? Not the people, but the powerful owners and managers of these industries, whose control over energy markets has proven to be as unbreakable as it is harmful,” he said.
“The voice of reason reminds us that the transition to renewable energy is not an ideological whim, but an existential necessity. Clean energies like solar, wind, and geothermal are not only safer for the planet but also represent an opportunity to diversify economies and free citizens from the yoke of corporate interests,” he said.
He said Wright’s nomination not only puts advances in renewable energy at risk but also reinforces a system prioritizing profits over public health, air quality, and climate well-being. While other countries move toward energy self-sufficiency based on renewable resources, the United States seems set to go back decades, leading the world not toward a cleaner future, but toward a present plagued by pollution and inequality, he said.
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