The U. S. Senate confirmed former GOP Texas Gov. Rick Perry as secretary of energy Thursday. The Senate voted 62 to 37 to confirm Perry, including 10 Democrats and one Independent voting for him.<\/b>
The U. S. Senate confirmed former GOP Texas Gov. Rick Perry as secretary of energy Thursday.
The Senate voted 62 to 37 to confirm Perry, including 10 Democrats and one Independent voting for him.
Before the vote, environmentalists were already denouncing Perry\u2019s confirmation.
\u201cPerry lacks the knowledge and experience to run the DOE,\u201d Damon Moglen, a spokesperson at the green group Friends of the Earth, said in a press statement . \u201cShould he steer the DOE on a course of climate denialism, push for expanded use of fossil fuels, or embrace the policies of the corrupt billionaire energy industry leaders who helped fund his political ambitions, we at Friends of the Earth will resist.\u201d
Perry\u2019s nomination worried Democrats in light of a leaked transition team memo that had numerous questions regarding the agency\u2019s work on global warming. In Perry\u2019s book, \u201cFed Up!\u201d he said global warming science is a \u201c contrived phony mess ,\u201d and claimed \u201ca substantial number of scientists who have manipulated data so that they will have dollars rolling in to their projects.\u201d
Perry said in a confirmation hearing in January that he believes humans play a role in global warming.
While Texas governor, Perry closed down numerous coal plants and the state\u2019s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions fell. Perry opposed Obama administration global warming regulations over concerns they would have \u201cdevastating implications\u201d for the Texas economy. He backs an \u201call of the above\u201d energy strategy that doesn\u2019t discriminate between oil, coal, nuclear, biofuels, hydroelectric, solar, and wind energy.
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