Less Power To Him

IBD Editorials ^ | December 12, 2008

[Kaslin]

Politics: Barack Obama's apparent choice for Energy secretary is physicist Steven Chu. While there's no question about Chu's brilliance, his political activism is not what the country needs.

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Chu is a Nobel Prize winner. He's also a tree sitter. Not the kind who literally goes out on a limb in a childish fit of civil disobedience in order to stop loggers or developers from cutting down a tree. But Chu did plop himself on a California buckeye tree last year to pose for a photo for Vanity Fair's special "green" issue.

The tree could be passed off as a meaningless prop if Chu didn't have a history going beyond his scientific expertise and venturing into the political realm. He has criticized "free market forces" for not cutting carbon dioxide emissions and supports "a combination of fiscal policies and downright regulations" for controlling CO2.

He claims coal — which today fuels hundreds of power plants — is an "obstacle to progress," and has said "coal is my worst nightmare." And he shows an alarmist's fear of global warming.

Chu is also a zealous advocate of alternative energy, using his position as director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California to push policymakers to remake the facility into a center for researching biofuels and solar energy.

An opponent of coal who happens to be a global warming reactionary is not suitable to be in charge of the nation's energy policy.

[Max in Utah]

Ha, Chu.

[Cicero]

UC Berkeley's "Tree of Wisdom," featured in Vanity Fair:

Turning day to night with artificial lights, the Vanity Fair photo spread features Berkeley Nobel laureates (from left) Yuan T. Lee, Donald Glaser, Daniel McFadden, George Smoot, Charles Townes and Steven Chu, joined by Chancellor Robert Birgeneau. (Photo by Todd Eberle/ Vanity Fair)

--UC Berkeley News

[PaleoBob]

I’ll have to Chu on that a while.

[the invisib1e hand]

few things more dangerous than putting an academic trying to save the world from imaginary enemies in a position of power.

[the invisib1e hand]

pardon me boy, is that the cat who Chu’d your new shoes?

[steelyourfaith]

 

Beam me to Planet Gore !

[Jacquerie]

Yeah, Leftist literature is sprinkled with the notion that if only the appropriate people are assigned to central planning committees, all would be well in a socialist economy.

Banking, Energy, Environment, Agriculture, Education, Housing, Healtcare, etc all feel the heavy hand of central planners and are worse off for it.

It is bad enough that we even have a Dept of Energy, it is worse that a true believer will head it.

[Max in Utah]

If this one of the guys who was behind California's new environmental act then the whole nation's going to be in trouble. This is a poor time to clamp down on CO2 emissions (esp. restricting use of coal) and throw money at expensive alternative power generation technologies.

If Chu becomes Energy Secretary and his plans are put into effect, we could very well go from recession into depression.

I'm just waiting to see what the new administration's actual policy position will be on nuclear power. It's not looking good at this point.