President Obama has named Gina McCarthy as his choice for the new EPA administrator and scientist Ernest Moniz from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as his pick for Energy secretary. He also selected the president of the Wal Mart Foundation, Sylvia Mathews Burwell, to lead the White House budget office. These nominees represent the final posts in Obama’s second-term Cabinet to be filled, and they do not come with any great surprise. If they are confirmed, they will face a series of contentious issues including U.S. natural gas exports and a possible move into crude oil exports, hydraulic fracturing and climate change.
“Gina has focused on practical, cost-effective ways to keep our air clean and our economy growing,” Obama said at the White House.
“She’s earned a reputation as a straight shooter. She welcomes different points of views….Ernie knows that we can produce more energy and grow our economy while still taking care of our air, our water and our climate.”
Moniz’s nomination was also greeted with great enthusiasm from the environmentalist community.
“Ernest Moniz … has a history of supporting dirty and dangerous energy sources like gas and nuclear power with polluting partners including BP, Shell, Chevron and Saudi Aramco,” said clean energy advocate Courtney Abrams of Environment America.
“We are concerned about the Department of Energy’s priorities given this track record and hope Moniz will focus on clean, renewable ways to get our energy that don’t put our families and our environment in harm’s way.”
