Obama, Don't Make Moniz Energy Secretary
- by: Susan V
- recipient: President Obama
Moniz’s role as director of an oil industry-funded research group raises concerns about a biased approach to reducing greenhouse gases, and his view that we need a natural gas “bridge “ to renewables is a mistaken assumption promoted by other pro-frackers.
Adding to already sufficient evidence that renewable energy can meet and even exceed energy demands by 2030 are a new study by the University of Delaware and the success of Spain's wind farms, which are already producing more electricity than its other sources.
Moniz’s unsubstantiated claim that fracking can be "safe" misses the main point. Fracking will waste huge sums of money on a limited resource that could otherwise be invested in limitless and clean energy.
Tell Obama we need an Energy Secretary who will put full support behind renewable energy. Don’t appoint Moniz!
We, the undersigned, expect our Energy Secretary to put the country’s full support behind renewable energy development. Science supports its ability to meet our power demands, and whoever heads that department should put what is best for the country ahead of oil and gas industry profits.
Spain reported this month that “…wind energy exceeded output from both nuclear and coal-fired power stations and represents more than a quarter of Spain's total power generation.” But Spain is not the only country having success with wind power. Germany last year reported a decrease in greenhouse gases along with an increase in meeting energy demands and its goal of 80% reliance on renewables by 2050. And the new University of Delaware study addresses concerns Germany and others have had about cost-effectiveness of renewables as well as their ability to meet energy demands.
Furthermore, a recent report by Greenpeace says the US can cut greenhouse gas emissions enough to prevent the worst effects of climate change and at the same time meet at least 96% of US electricity demands by 2050, along with creating over a million jobs and saving as much as trillions in fuel costs.
Based on research by Professor Mark Jacobson and Mark Delucchi published in Scientific American, Stanford News reported in 2009 that a “massive commitment” to wind, water and solar energy could reduce global demand by 30%. Although most of the technology already existed by 2009 to make that shift, they said, politics was standing in the way of using it.
In the film, “The 11th Hour,” former CIA Director James Woolsey notes that the US “can move awfully fast - if it wants to." As an example, he points to Roosevelt’s administration taking only a few months to prepare America for World War II.
If our country can put forth such a strong, united effort for war, it should expend at least that much effort to save the planet’s inhabitants from extinction and give us all a better quality of life in the meantime.
Please appoint an Energy Secretary who will bring the US out of the dark ages on clean air and water protection and renewable energy development. Please do not appoint Moniz or anyone who supports further development of fossil fuels.
Thanks for your serious consideration of these requests.
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