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| Trump Names Former Texas Regulator as White House Environmental Adviser | Trump Names Former Texas Regulator as White House Environmental Adviser |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| President Trump has nominated a former top Texas environmental regulator, who has argued that carbon dioxide is a harmless gas that should not be regulated, to be the White House senior adviser on environmental policy. | President Trump has nominated a former top Texas environmental regulator, who has argued that carbon dioxide is a harmless gas that should not be regulated, to be the White House senior adviser on environmental policy. |
| The former regulator, Kathleen Hartnett White, will lead the Council on Environmental Quality if confirmed by the Senate. Currently she serves as a senior fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a free-market think tank. She previously served as the chairwoman of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality under Rick Perry, who was governor at the time and is now the Energy Secretary. | The former regulator, Kathleen Hartnett White, will lead the Council on Environmental Quality if confirmed by the Senate. Currently she serves as a senior fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a free-market think tank. She previously served as the chairwoman of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality under Rick Perry, who was governor at the time and is now the Energy Secretary. |
| “Throughout her career Kathleen has served Texans as a strong leader, in particular by ensuring that Texans have the energy and natural resources they need to prosper,” Brooke Rollins, president of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, said in a statement. | “Throughout her career Kathleen has served Texans as a strong leader, in particular by ensuring that Texans have the energy and natural resources they need to prosper,” Brooke Rollins, president of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, said in a statement. |
| The appointment is the latest in a series of disputed environmental nominations. This week, Mr. Trump nominated Barry Lee Myers, the chief executive of AccuWeather, a for-profit weather forecasting company, to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Last week, the president nominated Andrew Wheeler, a coal lobbyist, to be deputy administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. | The appointment is the latest in a series of disputed environmental nominations. This week, Mr. Trump nominated Barry Lee Myers, the chief executive of AccuWeather, a for-profit weather forecasting company, to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Last week, the president nominated Andrew Wheeler, a coal lobbyist, to be deputy administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. |
| Environmentalists say Mr. Trump is stacking agencies with those who either reject the scientific consensus that human-made emissions cause climate change or lack the scientific qualifications for their jobs. | Environmentalists say Mr. Trump is stacking agencies with those who either reject the scientific consensus that human-made emissions cause climate change or lack the scientific qualifications for their jobs. |
| “Now you have a full house for the fossil fuel industry,” said Christy Goldfuss, who served as managing director of the White House environmental council under former President Obama. She called Mrs. White’s appointment particularly troubling, citing a piece she wrote entitled, “Fossil Fuels: The Moral Case.” In it, Mrs. White argued that labeling carbon dioxide emissions as a pollutant is “absurd” and asserted that it should be considered the “gas of life.” | “Now you have a full house for the fossil fuel industry,” said Christy Goldfuss, who served as managing director of the White House environmental council under former President Obama. She called Mrs. White’s appointment particularly troubling, citing a piece she wrote entitled, “Fossil Fuels: The Moral Case.” In it, Mrs. White argued that labeling carbon dioxide emissions as a pollutant is “absurd” and asserted that it should be considered the “gas of life.” |
| Mrs. White also has called renewable energy “unreliable and parasitic,” described global warming as “a creed, a faith, a dogma that has little to do with science,” and asserted that science does not dictate policy in democracies. | Mrs. White also has called renewable energy “unreliable and parasitic,” described global warming as “a creed, a faith, a dogma that has little to do with science,” and asserted that science does not dictate policy in democracies. |
| Conservatives, including those who accept the established science of climate change, said they believe Mrs. White is a good choice for the job. | Conservatives, including those who accept the established science of climate change, said they believe Mrs. White is a good choice for the job. |
| “I don’t think that she’s right on climate science,” said Eli Lehrer, president of the R Street Institute, a conservative think tank that has argued in favor of a carbon tax. But Mr. Lehrer also said he hoped that Mrs. White will support the Trump administration’s moves to reverse the Obama administration’s effort to regulate power plant emissions under the Clean Power Plan. | “I don’t think that she’s right on climate science,” said Eli Lehrer, president of the R Street Institute, a conservative think tank that has argued in favor of a carbon tax. But Mr. Lehrer also said he hoped that Mrs. White will support the Trump administration’s moves to reverse the Obama administration’s effort to regulate power plant emissions under the Clean Power Plan. |
| He said he is also optimistic that Mrs. White will help roll back other rules, including one that governs how the Environmental Protection Agency protects waterways. | He said he is also optimistic that Mrs. White will help roll back other rules, including one that governs how the Environmental Protection Agency protects waterways. |
| “Her instincts on working to remove burdensome regulation, I expect, are largely right,” Mr. Lehrer said. | “Her instincts on working to remove burdensome regulation, I expect, are largely right,” Mr. Lehrer said. |
| Democrats, meanwhile, have begun to question the choice of Mr. Myers to lead NOAA. The administration, which is the country’s chief agency on atmospheric science, falls under the Department of Commerce and is responsible for weather forecasting, climate modeling and ocean services. | |
| Senator Brian Schatz, Democrat of Hawaii, said in a statement that as head of a for-profit weather forecasting service, Mr. Myers essentially viewed NOAA as a direct competitor, since the agency provides forecasts for free. He said Mr. Myers would likely face conflicts of interest as administrator and called the nomination a “questionable choice.” | Senator Brian Schatz, Democrat of Hawaii, said in a statement that as head of a for-profit weather forecasting service, Mr. Myers essentially viewed NOAA as a direct competitor, since the agency provides forecasts for free. He said Mr. Myers would likely face conflicts of interest as administrator and called the nomination a “questionable choice.” |