Perry sticks to Trump’s script: more love for coal, more denial of climate change

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Rick Perry gave a speech at the Energy Information Administration conference in Washington, D.C., in which he bashed the Obama administration for “politically” motivated energy policies “driven by a hostility to coal.” While the Obama administration certainly sought to encourage clean energy projects as a way to reduce the carbon pollution that is fueling climate change, Perry failed to mention—or perhaps, grasp—the economic reality that natural gas, renewables, and energy efficiency are simply getting more competitive due to market forces.  Later in the day, at a White House press conference, Perry once again called for a climate change debate and touted the Trump administration’s latest talking point about making America “energy dominant”—all of which is code for making dirty energy “great again.”