At Confirmation Hearing, Energy Nominee Steven Chu Shifts His Stance

[DeepModem Mom]

Source: New York Times

Physics met politics at the confirmation hearing Tuesday for Steven Chu, the Nobel laureate scientist chosen by President-elect Barack Obama to head the Department of Energy, and the physics bent a bit, as Dr. Chu backed away slightly from earlier statements he has made — that gasoline prices should be higher, and that coal was his “nightmare.”

Dr. Chu, whose last job was director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, answered an array of questions from the Senate committee on Energy and Natural Resources — about his position on new nuclear reactors (yes, at least for a few plants), offshore drilling (only as part of an energy package) and new coal-burning power plants (a few, until we figure out a better way). He told the lawmakers that “last year’s rapid spike in oil and gasoline prices not only contributed to the recession we are now experiencing, it also put a huge strain on the budgets of families all across America.”

Last September, though, he told The Wall Street Journal, “Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe.” At the hearing, responding to a question about that statement, he said, “What the American family does not want is to pay an increasing fraction of their budget, their precious dollars, for energy costs, both in transportation and keeping their homes warm and lit.” The answer is efficiency, using less so that even if the price rises, the bill does not, he said.

He also said that coal, which has a wide political constituency, would continue to be used, and that the trick was to convert it to electricity cleanly.

Dr. Chu, who is 60, got a friendly welcome from the committee, but really warmed up when Senator Blanche Lincoln, Democrat of Arkansas, asked him how plants could be turned into substitutes for petroleum. “Actually, now we’re getting to science, I love this,” he said, to laugher around the room....

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/us/politics/13web-chu.html?hp

[Sebastian Doyle]

1. He's a fucking "Clean Coal" mythology believer???

Great.... so much for one of the few seemingly decent picks on the cabinet. :evilfrown:

[nyc 4 Biden]

2. After reading that, I came away with exactly the opposite reaction.

IMO it appears that he is against coal burning plants but backed down slightly in these hearings as to not freak out the coal industry right now.

[DUlover2909]

4. No kidding. Coal is pure carbon. Oxidizing it is the only way to extract energy.

Plants millions of years ago put sunlight energy into seperating the carbon from the oxygen to create sugar. Now we're reversing that slow process to inefficiently create electricity by creating CO2. I can't imagine an efficient process that would "undo" the creation of more CO2 from coal.

By the way, does anyone know the ignition temperature of diamond ore?

Never mind, I found it. 800 C

[jkshaw]

5. Don't think so, Sebastian.

Obama wants him confirmed, and many in congress have constituencies that depend on coal, work in and around coal mines, constituencies that run small businesses with coal miners as their customers. Trust Chu to get rid of coal-fired electricity as soon as possible without destroying the economies of local towns and counties.

[Avalux]

7. No he isn't. He hates coal. BUT...

Chu is a brilliant mind and an awesome pick; he just can't roll into his hearing spouting his 'radical' views. Had to temper them a bit to get confirmed; 50% of electricity in the US comes from coal; many states depend on it for their industry.

[sinkingfeeling]

3. He's got to get the votes of the Senators from coal producing states.

[Ichingcarpenter]

6. “Actually, now we’re getting to science"

vs. the coal bulshit politics he had to talk about before.

I love this guy.

[proud progressive]

8. i somehow hope, but doubt, that 'team obama' will have the courage to tax gas to at least $2.50 - $3

otherwise, we will never cure our addition. don't ever forget that we are a spoiled bunch who will keep buying and driving the guzzlers until we feel a little pain. some of the added revenues can be returned as assistance for the poor.

[T Wolf]

9. Cold political reality meets (and defeats) scientific reality. If every decision must be

compromised for the benefit of specific (powerful) constituencies, little good will actually be accomplished.

One of the few (two?) "good" nominees learns how the game is played, and the nation suffers.

[9119495]

10. Wake up and calm down people...

To get throught the trogs in the Senate, this man needs to say this stuff. Have you learned nothing over the past 8 years? To get confirmed you need to lie, misrepresent, and distort. Once you are confirmed, you can do what you want.

Am I happy about this state of affairs? No, but I want my country back by any means necesary.