Is the Trump Administration Embracing Renewable Energy?
Gary Tulie sent me this piece in Cleantechnica, which posits that the Trump administration is becoming bullish on renewable energy (not a bad name for a book) and bearish on coal.
I honestly don’t know what to make of this. Trump has been very clear that he intends to bring back jobs in coal, and, though the industry is small and shrinking, this is a big deal to his (small and shrinking) fan base. Further, it was just the other day that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt boasted that 50K new coal jobs had been created since Trump took office.
Of course, this is completely false; it’s just another bare-faced lie to which we’ve become so accustomed. There have been 50K new jobs created in the mining sector as a whole, of which coal is a tiny sliver. Jobs in coal have been on a steady decline since the 19th Century, at which time there were in the neighborhood of 300K coal miners. Now, more people are employed at DisneyWorld than by the entirety of the U.S. coal mining industry, and there’s no power on Earth that can reverse this trend. Nevertheless, that’s what Pruitt said, without the slightest bit of shame. For the Trump administration to embrace renewables seems like a fantasy, given their close ties to the fossil fuel boys. Trump himself has close financial ties to Energy Transfer Partners, the owners of the Dakota Access Pipeline. It’s ostensibly a coincidence that he signed off on the project. 🙂
Craig,
I’ll say this for you, your opposition is as relentless as it lacks objectivity.
Naturally, labour saving technology, natural gas, less accessible mines, have continued to erode ‘king Coal” .
But their has been a real renaissance in the US Coal industry as a result of the new administration. actual jobs created would vastly exceed 50,000 if the jobs created by the economic activity created by new employment in coal is included.
More importantly, the industry has ceased shedding employment.
Private investment in US coal sequestration technology is beginning to increase, with very promising new technologies, especially in the development of valuable by-products.
Things are as black and white as your prismatic viewpoint suggests.
Donald Trump has never been opposed to any new technology, provided it can prove profitable. Over the years he’s proved himself an astute and highly successful investor and stock trader.
Energy Transfer Partners, is a Fortune 500 company, worth billions, several years ago Donald Trump purchased $15,000 worth of stock which he subsequently sold for less than $50,000. A tidy profit, but for him just another play in a huge and widely diversified portfolio.
It may also interest you to know Trump owns much lager stakes in manufactures of Wind Turbines and Solar component manufacturers !
Now to be fair, do you really imagine a $15,000 investment in Fortune 500 giant, qualifies as “close financial ties” ?
Why don’t you read the article I cited?