Trump’s cabinet is filled with favors for fossil fuels

Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke have been busy carrying out Trump’s executive orders that put polluters first. Perry, once an advocate for wind power, has now tasked his agency with figuring out how to give coal and nuclear power a boost within the nation’s electricity grid, presumably at the expense of renewable energy. Tapped to lead the study is Travis Fisher, formerly with the fossil fuel–backed Institute for Energy Research. Perry also nominated Daniel Simmons, an outspoken critic of clean energy (also from IER), to lead the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy. Seriously. Not to be outdone, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke created a new agency position to fast-track approvals for energy projects, such as oil, gas, and coal extraction on federal lands. Zinke also took steps to expand offshore oil and gas leasing within protected areas that haven’t seen drilling leases in decades.