EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt discusses his vision for an EPA that pursues science, not agendas.
It was a jam packed day at the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s energy summit in Washington D.C. this past week. “At the Crossroads: Energy & Climate Policy Summit,” was co-hosted by the Heritage Foundation and featured an incredible lineup of representatives, administration officials, and scientists. CFACT staff got the opportunity to hear from EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, Senators Mike Lee and James Inhofe, Congressman Lamar Smith, and expert scientists Roy Spencer, Richard Lindzen, William Happer, Pat Michaels, Craig Idso, and many more.
Senator Mike Lee talks about the problem of land ownership in the West.
EPA Administrator Pruitt kicked off the conference by discussing his efforts to bring common sense back to the agency. He explained how the Obama administration was so focused on unconstitutional agendas like the Clean Power Plan, it ignored real environmental problems that needed to be solved. Superfund sites, or areas in states designated for contamination clean up where a responsible party can be identified, were almost completely ignored. The administration left with more Superfund sites than it came in with. While some “Obama holdovers” have been making waves in the press opposing President Trump’s efforts, according to Pruitt, many were eager to get back to Superfund work that had been ignored for years. He concluded his talk by addressing some of his critics. “The problem we’ve encountered over the last 8 years is the mindset that you can’t be pro-growth, pro-jobs, and pro-environment. That is simply false.”
Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) then took the stage and sounded off against those who are angry with President Trump’s recent decisions to scale back Obama land grabs for monument designation. “The Bears Ears Monument is 1.4 million acres. That is bigger than Rhode Island and Delaware. It is located in Utah’s poorest county, in direct opposition to the county’s inhabitants…the federal government already owns close to 70% of the land in Utah.”
Left to Right: CFACT Executive Director Craig Rucker, Director of Communications Marc Morano, and National Director of Collegians Adam Houser in between sessions.
Senator James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) and Congressman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) each took time to document their efforts fighting for sound climate science in the Congress. Senator Inhofe became known for throwing a snowball onto the Senate floor to bring attention to the ridiculousness of global warming alarmism. While Congressman Smith will unfortunately be retiring soon, he leaves behind a legacy of being a champion for climate realists everywhere.
Later in the day, an incredible panel featuring Dr. Roy Spencer, Dr. William Happer, Dr. Richard Lindzen, Dr. Patrick Michaels, and Dr. Craig Idso discussed the climate system and the impact of CO2. Dr. Spencer explained that cloud cover could have a much greater impact on temperatures than CO2, while Dr. Lindzen explained that CO2 is not the control knob of the climate, and that many scientists are engaged in fraudulently adjusting their data to advance an agenda.
Left to Right: Dr. Patrick Michaels asks Dr. Roy Spencer a question on climate, while Dr. Happer, Idso and Lindzen look on.
Finally, the conference concluded with Poland’s Ambassador to the United States, Piotr Wilczek, discussing the importance of American energy dominance to Polish and American national security (picture featured as the cover photo to this story). Russian energy suppliers are a political arm of the Putin regime, the ambassador explained, and Poland wants to buy as much of its energy as possible from the United States so that it does not have to rely on Russia. If Poland does not have to rely on Russia, then Russia cannot use its energy supply as a negotiating tactic or blackmail tactic, against Poland.
It is clear that the Trump administration is committed to bringing sane environmental policy back to the EPA while pursuing America’s energy independence. CFACT will continue to take the message of these public servants, scientists, and policy experts to the upcoming generation to secure our energy future and liberty for years to come.
