He says no comment.
"As energy chief, Ernest Moniz is man in the middle; Ex-MIT professor tries to balance environment, industry to cut carbon" by Matt Viser | Globe Staff, February 22, 2014
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz is known around his department for a quick wit, a leader of a vast bureaucracy who draws quotes from Monty Python skits and chuckles self-deprecatingly at the attention paid to his unusual Colonial-style hairdo.
As he toured a government lab in Virginia the other day, he also displayed a deep knowledge of technical science, making small talk with fellow scientists that sounded like code to an outsider....
But hidden behind the wonky demeanor one would expect from Moniz, a former MIT professor who got hooked on physics at Durfee High School in Fall River, is a measure of political savvy earned as a veteran of the Clinton administration. It is a well of experience that his supporters say will help him lead key initiatives in President Obama’s second term — including an expansion of America’s nuclear power industry.
At a time when the White House plans to exercise greater executive authority to circumvent a recalcitrant Congress, Moniz, 69, is in charge of one of the most controversial portfolios in the Cabinet, requiring him to balance worries about global warming with the demands of a powerful energy industry.
Constituencies clamoring for his favor include gas and oil companies that want permission to drill and export more; clean energy start-ups eager for more government loans; environmentalists, some of them critical of Moniz’s ties to industry, who want a stronger emphasis on wind and solar energies; and scientists seeking more research money.
In a wide-ranging interview as he traveled around the Virginia coast, Moniz previewed plans to increase energy efficiency standards. And he said he planned to move forward aggressively on more government loans to private energy companies, despite the embarrassing bankruptcy filings of Solyndra and A123 Systems of Waltham.
”We’ve got a big-time problem to address climate,” he said, riding in the back of a sport utility vehicle....
And he is worried about being late!
The opera-loving fly-fisherman also divulged details about his hair, which has generated intense interest on Twitter, triggered photo galleries online, and drawn comparisons to, among others, George Washington....
Yeah, get a haircut!
Moniz was born in Fall River, where his father worked at Firestone, the rubber manufacturing plant, and his mother watched after him, the only child. All four of his grandparents were emigrants from the Azores Islands.
“I came from a blue-collar town, a public school,’’ he told students at Hampton University. “It’s a great country to be able to do this.”
He played baseball and tennis at Durfee. He also benefited from an MIT initiative to develop a stronger physics curriculum in high schools, after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik and fears spread that the United States was falling behind.
“Fortunately the physics teacher at the high school decided that the high school would be one of the pioneers, one of the guinea pigs,” Moniz said. “That’s when I got hooked on physics.”
Then you would know those WTC towers -- all three of them -- couldn't come down as the government has claimed. At least we can agree on that, even though I was never hooked on physics. Took me years to understand what I just pointed out (blog editor sheepishly blushes in embarrassment).
He went to Boston College on a scholarship from his father’s labor union and became editor of Cosmos, the school’s science journal. After getting his doctorate in theoretical physics at Stanford, he joined the MIT faculty in 1973. He was the founding director of the MIT Energy Initiative and the MIT Laboratory for Energy and the Environment.
“He has this marvelous sense of humor,” said Susan Hockfield, the former MIT president. “You don’t feel as though you’re getting browbeaten by him. You feel like he’s teaching you. And he’s a master teacher.”
He served as a science adviser and as the undersecretary at the Department of Energy in the Clinton administration. Some say he is more politically savvy than his predecessor, Steven Chu, a Nobel-winning physicist from California who at times frustrated the White House by going off script.
Oh, now we know why the WH chewed him up and spit him out.
“He’s the best-prepared secretary of energy — ever,” T.J. Glauthier, a former top-ranking energy department official who now advises energy companies, said of Moniz.
Related: Wa$hington $till the $ame
As he was preparing to take the job, Moniz consulted with George Shultz, who held four Cabinet positions under Presidents Nixon and Reagan and who worked with Moniz on the MIT Energy Initiative.
“I told him, ‘Stay close to members of Congress. In the end, they own the money,’ ” Shultz said in an interview. “You go and talk to them, just informing and whatnot — not just when you’ve got a crisis.”
Moniz said he has taken that advice. Several Republicans have praised his approach, and he recently had dinner with Representative Mike Simpson, an influential Republican on energy issues from Idaho.
But some environmentalists accuse Moniz of being too close with the oil and gas industry, citing ties established at the MIT Energy Initiative, which was funded primarily by those industries.
See: Moniz's Money
“So far he’s known for his deep love of fracked natural gas,” said Bill McKibben, a prominent environmental activist.
Related: Taking Global Warming on Faith
Moniz said damage to the environment should be mitigated, but his primary goal is lowering carbon levels in the atmosphere — even if that means promoting nuclear power or natural gas exploration through fracking, a controversial technique that uses pressurized water to fracture underground rock and release trapped gas.
“I frankly don’t care what the mix of technology is, as long as it gets us to low carbon,” he said. “And I think we need every arrow in the quiver.”
He bristles at criticism that the administration isn’t doing enough.
“Here we have the president who has done the most to commit to climate — I have been out there as a climate warrior,” he said. “But it’s not good enough because we refuse to exclude part of the portfolio.’’
Who apparently rides an SUV, not a horse.
Moniz strongly defends the use of government loans and grants for clean-energy companies, saying it is a vital way to develop technologies. While high-profile failures have caused Republicans to contend the government should not be investing in startups, Moniz said some risk is inevitable when you “push the envelope.’’
“We are not defensive about it,” he said, citing a remaining $50 billion in lending authority. “Quite the contrary. We have a lot more authority left. We’re going to use it.”
Kiss that money goodbye, taxpayers.
In the interview, Moniz would not discuss in any detail one of the more controversial proposals he must decide: whether to expand US exports of natural gas. He also would not weigh in on the Keystone Pipeline, which would carry oil from tar-sands fields in Canada to US refineries and ports. The highly controversial project is being reviewed by Secretary of State John Kerry, but the Department of Energy has an advisory role. Obama has said he will not approve the project if it would “significantly exacerbate” greenhouse gas emissions.
When asked if he believes it would increase carbon emissions, Moniz said, “I’m not commenting on Keystone.” He also declined to say if he has discussed the project with Kerry.
Related: Questions Regarding Canadian Fires
Also see: Activists prod John Kerry to say no on pipeline
No one is saying anything!
Moniz lives with his wife in Brookline, but his schedule keeps him away from home for weeks at a time. He often travels overseas to meet with foreign leaders about climate issues (although his home is about a mile and a half from Fenway Park, he watched Game Six of the World Series from the US Embassy in Japan).
Heating up the planet as he spews hot air! It's that old saying about doesn't think own $hit $tinks!
The travel has kept him away from most games in the “Over-the-Hill Soccer League,” which he has played in for about 25 years (when he shows up, he is the only one who now has a security detail).
More greenhouse gas footprint.
He also recently had a sobering responsibility, acting as the potential last line of defense in the event of a catastrophe. He was the “designated successor,” sitting out the State of the Union in case the president and other top officials died at once in the House chamber.
I don't know; hate to say it but they should all be led to the gallows. Barring that, I don't know who I want sitting in that seat, or if it even matters (the only person worthy of the job, imho, is Ralph Nader).
He was placed in an undisclosed location, with ample security and communications capability. The accommodations were not exactly meager.
“We had a steak dinner,” he said.
Certainly you know the connection between cattle and methane as well as energy expended to feed cattle, right?
I hope he chewed down some guilt with the cow flesh.
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Related: Fossil fuels remain at the forefront, energy expert says
Meaning the wars for empire must continue.
Time to hop a train....
"Railroads, US reach pact on crude oil safety; Accord follows series of disasters" by Matthew Brown and Joan Lowy | Associated Press, February 22, 2014
BILLINGS, Mont. — Railroads that haul volatile crude oil shipments have reached an agreement with US transportation officials to adopt wide-ranging, voluntary safety measures after a string of explosive and deadly accidents.
The agreement between the US Transportation Department and the Association of American Railroads was obtained Friday by the Associated Press.
It calls for railroads to slow down oil trains from 50 to 40 miles per hour through major cities, inspect tracks more frequently, and bolster emergency response planning along routes that carry trains hauling up to 3 million gallons of crude each.
The new safety steps would begin going into effect in late March and be fully in place by July 1.
After a boom in domestic drilling in recent years, oil trains now travel thousands of miles from oil producing areas, including the Northern Plains, to coastal refineries and shipping terminals along the Mississippi River and other major waterways.
The agreement does not resolve concerns over another fuel, ethanol, that has also seen a spate of accidents as production has increased.
Burning food when people are starving and at the same time increasing greenhouse emissions was always a $tupid idea; however, it pours money into the pockets of big agricultural combines so its worth it.
It also leaves out tens of thousands of flawed tank cars that carry crude and ethanol and are known to split open during derailments. Railroads and federal officials said they would address that issue separately.
By taking voluntary steps, railroads will be able to act far more quickly than if they waited for new safety rules to be drafted and approved by the government, said Robert Chipkevich, former director of rail and hazardous materials accident investigations at the National Transportation Safety Board.
But he added that regulators will have little leverage to enforce the industry’s commitments.
‘‘It’s a positive step,’’ Chipkevich said. ‘‘But certainly there’s nothing to say they would have to continue following those practices. The only way you can enforce something like that would be for regulators to publish regulations and do periodic oversight.’’
Federal officials said they would continue to pursue longer-term measures to further improve safety. They also said they would use regular inspections to check for compliance with the agreement.
With no formal rules, inspectors would be unable to issue fines or take other punitive measures for failing to live up to the agreement.
‘‘We expect for this to be a document that is fully adhered to, and are prepared to inspect accordingly and call out the industry as necessary,’’ Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Szabo said in an interview.
The Association of American Railroads represents all of the major railroads in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and president Edward Hamberger said he expects all of them to sign on to the agreement.
At least 10 times since 2008, freight trains hauling oil across North America have derailed and spilled significant quantities of crude, with most of the accidents touching off fires or catastrophic explosions.
The deadliest wreck killed 47 people in the town of Lac-Megantic, Quebec.
I suggest you check each and every car.
Others have occurred in rural areas of North Dakota, Alabama, Oklahoma, and New Brunswick. The derailments released almost 3 million gallons of oil, nearly twice as much as the largest pipeline spill in the United States since at least 1986....
Gulf gusher accounted for over 200 million.
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Also see:
14 freight train cars go off tracks in Westford
Driver says GPS led him onto Webster train tracks
"Mississippi River opened after oil spill" Associated Press, February 25, 2014
NEW ORLEANS — The Coast Guard has reopened all of the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, though ships and other vessels must pass slowly near the site of a weekend oil spill.
About 31,500 gallons of light crude oil spilled into the river after a tank barge hit a towboat Saturday afternoon....
The accident was at least the third in three years involving a towboat owned by Settoon Towing of Louisiana. Company attorney Alex Pucheu did not immediately return calls and e-mails requesting comment....
Public drinking water intakes on the river were closed as a precaution in nearby St. Charles Parish, officials said. ‘‘The water supply in St. Charles Parish remains safe,’’ parish officials said.
Remember what happened in West Virginia?
Not trying to be a nag, but....
The closure included the Port of New Orleans. However, two cruise ships were able to leave the port Sunday to begin their scheduled cruises.
I think I would cancel.
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You know, you really out to convert to all pipelines, America -- and might as well throw in Keystone XL with it!
