Model Public Servants

The Department of Energy stands up to Trump transition demand. In this case, that names be named—of employees and contractors who have been working on climate change. In its report this morning, the WaPo quotes this agency statement—

...Our career workforce, including our contractors and employees at our labs, comprise the backbone of DOE ... and the important work our department does to benefit the American people. We are going to respect the professional and scientific integrity and independence of our employees at our labs and across our department.

We will be forthcoming with all publicly-available information with the transition team. We will not be providing any individual names to the transition team.

As the new boss is being named.... Is our Texas Republicans learning? At least this time around, Perry will know the name of the agency he's charged with destroying.

On the other hand, he knows enough to have the proper oil industry backing. No pointy-headed physicist, he—unlike the previous two energy secretaries—

...Ernest Moniz, Obama's most recent Sec. of Energy, played a major role in negotiating the particulars of the agreement with Iran about halting their nuclear weapons program. It was also under his leadership and that of his predecessor, Steven Chu, that this administration hosted four Global Summits on Nuclear Security that, among other things, resulted in the removal and/or disposition of over 3.2 metric tons of vulnerable highly enriched uranium (HEU) and plutonium material and the complete removal of HEU from 12 countries – Austria, Chile, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Libya, Mexico, Republic of Korea, Romania, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine, and Vietnam. It is also helpful to keep in mind that it was Sec. Chu who provided oversight to the team of scientists brought in to end the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Later this morning, a new WaPo headline: Scientists are frantically copying U.S. climate data, fearing it might vanish under Trump.