Guest essay by Kevin D. Knoebel
In case you missed it, physicist Ernest J. Moniz was sworn in on May 21, 2013 as the new US Secretary of Energy. Born in 1944 in Fall River, Massachusetts, graduated high school in Fall River, Massachusetts, got his BS is Physics from Boston College in Massachusetts in 1966. Finally he left that East Coast pocket of moderate conservatism during the 1960’s counter-cultural revolution to experience something completely different, Stanford University in California, where he got his PhD in Theoretical Physics in 1972.
Afterward he retreated back to Massachusetts, joining the faculty at MIT. From there he briefly wandered as far westward as Washington DC to serve two positions in the Clinton Administration, finishing as Under Secretary of Energy, thus granting him the wisdom to succeed in his new position.
Sadly he replaces (ignoring the brief fill-in time of an Acting Secretary) the beloved visionary, physicist Steven Chu. It is unknown what will happen to Chu’s fantastic dream of a glucose economy, where fast-growing plants in the tropics are converted to glucose, to be transported worldwide and converted as needed into biofuels and bioplastics. Granted it was likely doomed from the start, as continual exposure to high levels of glucose is known to the State of California to cause diabetes, but it was a wondrously original concept.
It is not known at this time why Moniz shares the same hairstyle as esteemed Stanford University theoretical physicist Michio Kaku. Hopefully Stanford professor Leif Svalgaard will be able to tell us if this is a time-honored tradition among past and current members of the Stanford Theoretical Physics Department. Steven Chu was once a Stanford professor of physics, but pursued practical applications, does not have the hairstyle.
Ernest Moniz
Not Ernest Moniz
He recently showcased his brilliance at the White House Leadership Summit on Women, Climate and Energy on May 23. Story. Video.
To assist those with hearing difficulties, or who have troubles with internet video, etc, I have painstakingly prepared a transcript, striving for absolute accuracy, listening to the same fragments dozens of times on the system speaker (I rarely use audio). Feel free to compare it to the video and report any corrections.
Transcript follows:
I’m not here, to, ah, debate what’s not debatable. Ah, the threat from climate change is real and urgent. Ah, the science fully demands, ah, a prudent response. Ah, just this month, as you know, I mean, pfft, kinda symbolically, ah, hitting, ah, essentially 400 ppm, ah, of CO2. Ah, of course that’s not including, ah, the non-CO2 greenhouse gases which really pump you up to about 450, ah, in, in effect. Ah, so we really need to, need to, ah, get after this. It’s, it’s an important imperative. Ah, and, ah, now the question is what are the solutions. And this is where there is, in fact, now, what I would call, legitimate debate. Let’s debate the solutions, ah, as opposed to, to, the driver.
Exquisite. Climate change is not debatable, it is real that climate changes. Science demands a prudent response, and it is manifestly prudent to wait and see what happens before responding, especially since there’s very little at all happening. Essentially we are already effectively at an atmospheric concentration of 450ppm CO₂, further showing the rising CO₂ is nothing to worry about.
Plus the discussions have simplified. We no longer have to argue how much of climate change is due to natural variation, we can go straight to debating the solutions to natural variation.
While our new Secretary of Energy has been widely greeted with enthusiasm, it was noted there was some concern, as mentioned in a HuffPo Green piece:
Some environmental groups have fretted about Moniz taking over the Energy Department, given his past support for nonrenewable, waste-producing practices such as hydraulic fracturing and nuclear fission.
I’ll wait until these obvious hypocrites start voicing their concerns using organically-grown fully-biodegradable computers and smart phones before considering their opinions. Meanwhile I welcome our new obviously-intelligent Energy Secretary.
Hopefully he’ll be able to stay in there and do some good. Although following the trend of nominating Stanford-affiliated physicists for the position, I am looking forward to the reign of future Energy Secretary Svalgaard.
following the trend of nominating Stanford-affiliated physicists for the position, I am looking forward to the reign of future Energy Secretary Svalgaard.
Now there’s a thought.
There is so much sarcasm in this post. Chu was a really bad activist. We all know he saw it as a problem that our gas prices were not as high as Europe’s. This guy Moniz sounds like a politician puppet spewing rhetoric to the masses of people who listen intently to how he wants to save the world. I’m sick inside after listening to this puppet speak.
Ah, too much, ah, LSD in the, ah, Sixties?
There’s no fool like an educated one.
When I saw the hair, for a brief moment I thought there would be some Washingtonian words to follow. Perhaps a period costume might help?
I thought that was Captain Kangaroo.
Seriously: Isn’t Obama late to the CAGW party? Seriously, isn’t it time he pull back the reins a bit on this extremist attack on science?
PS CodeTech LDS = LSD right?
Amazing insight and vision. Alert the Nobel committee immediately!
Energy Secretary Svalgaard. I like it. Maybe in the next Administration. If there is one…
Mario Lento – it’s a quote from Star Trek IV – they travel back in time to the 1980s and Kirk explains Spock as having done too much LDS in the 60s
What is not debatable?
“The Earth is round.”
Really? Perfectly round?
It’s debatable.
Why is it assumed a PhD in physics understands energy policy.
Give me T Boone Pickens anytime.
I believe the country would be better off without the departments of Energy, Homeland Security, and Education.
Michio Kaku has no connection with Stanford University. Never has.
The square of zero, the unanimous consent and advice of da Senate
Secretary of Energy, what crap. All we need is a rig count from the petroleum industry, how many open mining pit permits have been denied the coal industry, and if the nuclear power industry has enough fuel rods to get us through the rest of the year. The position is as useless as panties on Paris Hilton.
So this guy is as stupid as Chu is?
If you need somebody from Stanford, go dig up Dixy Lee Ray. She’s smarter dead that this clown is alive.
The hairstyle is more that of the psychopathic killer Anton Chigur from the Coen brothers and Cormack MacCarthy’s “No Country for Old Men”. After all of the very public ridicule that that character’s hairstyle got in the press, why would anyone still wear their hair like that?
Rich Lambert says (June 2, 2013 at 4:51 pm): “I believe the country would be better off without the departments of Energy, Homeland Security, and Education.”
And Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, HHS, HUD, & Transportation. Veterans’ Affairs should be part of DoD.
Hey, I can dream, can’t I? 🙂
Curt said on June 2, 2013 at 4:53 pm:
You are right! He was University of California at Berkeley. How did I miss that when doing that part of the writing during cooking supper and washing dishes and wrangling cats? Maybe it was a southern California thing?
Thank you for adding support for Kaku never becoming Secretary of Energy.
What is wrong with me? I used to write more clearly and easily back when I’d go outdoors for a quick smoke to compose my thoughts. Or because the cats or parents or TV news shows were irritating. Or it’d been at least an hour and I was due. It’s been such a struggle since I quit mid-December.
Shall I do as so many of the great ones do and have done, and yield to the temptations of the flesh for the sake of my art?
Ok, I’ve stopped laughing long enough to type…
Gary Hladik says:
June 2, 2013 at 5:36 pm
Rich Lambert says (June 2, 2013 at 4:51 pm): “I believe the country would be better off without the departments of Energy, Homeland Security, and Education.”
And Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, HHS, HUD, & Transportation. Veterans’ Affairs should be part of DoD.
That would entail enforcement of the 10th Amendment.
For those in the EU that means enforcement of subsidiarity.
kadaka (KD Knoebel) says:
June 2, 2013 at 5:37 pm
“What is wrong with me? I used to write more clearly and easily back when I’d go outdoors for a quick smoke to compose my thoughts. Or because the cats or parents or TV news shows were irritating. Or it’d been at least an hour and I was due. It’s been such a struggle since I quit mid-December.
Shall I do as so many of the great ones do and have done, and yield to the temptations of the flesh for the sake of my art?”
________________________
No !!!
I also quit in December, but during the storm on the 31st, I went into a smoke shop in the torrential downpour and dripped a puddle all over the counter and floor while I coughed up the cash… now I’m feelin’ all morose and guilty and stuff about my reacquired sins.
This would be funny if it weren’t so damn accurate.
@Harold, SillyCon Valley had its own Captain Satellite until he was found to be more interested in his younger fans … and there was Mayor Art, who I remember ending a sit-in/riot single handedly.
Michio Kaku impeached himself forever with his stance on Plutonium GPHS-RTG aboard Cassini-Huygens.
L.S. Junior University has fallen far.
I know some PhD’s that are smart as well as educated. Obama doesn’t.
Chu is a bum [the Nobel was by riding Coat tails] and this guy (Moniz) is on heavy and expensive) drugs.
I like the hair by the way. Looks to be in the era of George Washington. Cute. Hair is good.
Given the definition of ‘Climate’ I posit that ‘Climate’ does not exist !, i.e. the Theory Of Climate Failed.
[Gasp Heard ‘Round The Political World]
[Rumblings and Vomitings Within the Royal Society]
[Australia Laughing]
[China and Japan demand a RECOUNT ! NOW ! GOD DAMIT !]
[Vietnam responding to China: ‘Can’t you read engrish ?’]
[Greenland: Screw You Ha Ha. We signed a big Oil Company Drilling Contract ! Whop De Do !]
[Saudia Arabia opens the oil valves to flood the markets … ‘Damn the Yanks’ says one of the chosen ones to the lessor of the world]
[Germany: Waite Waite … Our Nuclear Plants … Sniff Sniff … [Tear In Eye] … We ARE … the Future ! Of HUMANITY … PURITY … EVERLASTING … SIG HEIL SIG HEIL SIG HEIL]
Well. Looks like Iron Fist came to fruition. Thanks to my kick-ass cell phone-computer. 🙂
[Hardy Har Har … Monday already arrived !]
I think one of the major problems at DOE is that the Secy of Energy requires a security clearance. Therefore, there is a bias, it seems to me, to pick people who already have security clearance. This tends to exclude, for example, businessmen who have no need of such clearances for ordinary business.
DOE would be better off if matters of commercial energy and energy economics were segregated from top secret technology. Adam Sieminski, who came to the head the EIA from Deutsche Bank, to me seems to be a good choice. He is comfortable with statistics and understands how real business operates.
Well, let’s give Moniz a chance, but he does seem like a bit of an odd duck.
From the transcript “Let’s debate the solutions, ah, as opposed to, to, the driver.” That statement violates every rule that I ever learned in a half century of problem solving in the energy industry. First define the problem before developing corrective actions. Moniz must have never worked a single day in industry in his entire life.
Amazing video, our new Energy Commisar is one of the worst public speakers ever. If he had great ideas we might not care that he is such a pitiful, inarticulate speaker in a position of such prominence. Alas, there are no indications that he has even adequate ideas….
Hmmm – I’m 97% certain I typed “LDS” in that first quote… now it’s transformed into “LSD” ???
Finally, brainless Obama has installed an administration Joe that everyone can oppose.
This must be his strategy to “bring us together.”
This is just one more data point showing that the system is thoroughly broken, with all of our institutions and presumptive “authorities” suborned by a scientific delusion, indeed a scientific hysteria.
This new Czar’s stated position on what is debatable and what is not fits what I have said at both Bishop Hill and Steven Goddard’s Real-Science site. At the latter, I put the current official government line this way: “We don’t need no stinking data–the science is settled.” I put it that way because I very much consider our government(s) to be criminal enterprises now, well likened to the scruffy bandidos in “Treasure of the Sierra Madre”. And I expect that I will be unable to do otherwise than simply disobey the laws that come forth from such racketeers (starting with Obamacare).
EW3 says:
June 2, 2013 at 4:51 pm
This.
[snip -policy – mod]
Grandma is a cross-dresser?
I like my wording better: No fool like a wise fool.
My question is how did the opposition party ever allow someone with such a non science posture ever get approved? He has not learned anything from the last 15 years on global warming or about the failures of his predecessor over the last 4 years except to waste billions on Solyndra and other foolish activities.
JMS says:
June 2, 2013 at 5:17 pm
The hairstyle is more that of the psychopathic killer Anton Chigur from the Coen brothers and Cormack MacCarthy’s “No Country for Old Men”. After all of the very public ridicule that that character’s hairstyle got in the press, why would anyone still wear their hair like that?
——————————————————————–
Bingo!
From Catcracking on June 2, 2013 at 8:08 pm:
Hypothetical situation: Minority opposition knows the majority will get whomever they want for a position, it’s highly unlikely they can do anything about it.
The minority opposition believes the majority has selected an ineffectual buffoon. What should the minority do?
Muniz was confirmed unanimously, 97-0.
Remember when Jimmy Carter created the Dept of Energy and got a Republican, James R. Schlesinger to be the first secretary of energy?
Carbon Dioxide Effects and Assessment Program
http://prospect.org/article/stop-him-he-writes-again
The transcript was illuminating. Thank you for ensuring such great moment will live forever.
I thought for a moment he was going to pull out a ukulele and start sing “Tip Toe Through The Tulips”.
Maybe this is a situation where skeptics should not interfere while antagonists do damage to themselves. [“Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” – –
Napoleon Bonaparte] (Which, by the way, seems to be the world’s strategy in Syria.)
CodeTech says: June 2, 2013 at 7:01 pm
Hmmm – I’m 97% certain I typed “LDS” in that first quote… now it’s transformed into “LSD” ???
Certain drugs can do that.
@CodeTech
I suppose strange things can happen to those confused whether their proper guru is Timothy Leary (dearie) or (the prophet) Joseph Smith. I’d have quite a time accepting Spock as a Mormon though 😉 😉 😉
I think they are trying to drive us mad.
Because we are not allowed to debate what matters, we are reduced to focusing on the superficial.
Nice hair. Likely a wig. He is copying George Washington.
Nice suit. Too bad the public can’t afford much besides rags.
Oh, wait. We are allowed to debate solutions. Well, the first solution that springs to mind is to (self-snip.)
Correction to the transcript:
You forgot an “ah”…
Brad, as most non-Brits would not get that little joke, I thought I would enlighten you all.
__________________________________________________
Ed Davey is the UK’s Energy Secretary, the man who is supposed to ensure that when you switch on an electric light it actually lights up.
Here’s his take on Energy and Climate Change:-
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/10095188/Ed-Davey-attacks-papers-who-report-destructive-climate-sceptics.html
CodeTech says:
June 2, 2013 at 7:01 pm
“Hmmm – I’m 97% certain I typed “LDS” in that first quote… now it’s transformed into “LSD” ???”
That’s sufficient proof that you were there in the 60’s ;o)
Another idiotic appointee by the Obama administration. Keep grinding out the crap.
Isn’t Moniz the guy who flips coins and carries a pneumatic thingee from No Country for Old Men?
It would be smart, politically, for Obama to get behind fracking (and maybe some form of acceptable nuclear), in combination with a push to replace oil heating and to provide a nationwide network of liquified natural gas stations for heavy trucks. It would allow him to keep energy costs down while pushing ahead with his program of phasing out coal-based power. Maybe also it would give him a justification for blocking the Keystone pipeline. The recent official report from the Feds absolving fracking of danger would give him cover. Another political positive of encouraging the use of natural gas for those purposes, and for encouraging its export, would be to raise its price and make it less competitive with renewable energy for use by power plants.
So maybe that’s why Moniz was OK’d unanimously–because the GOP knows he’s OK with natural gas and nuclear.
” Let’s debate the solutions, ah, as opposed to, to, the driver.”
Again an international synchronicity – Schellnhuber right now has the first climate impact conference in Berlin or Potsdam and in his introduction he stated that the question debated would not be IF humans cause extra warming – this he said was already parcatically answered by climate models in the affirmative – but WHAT to do for different worst case scenarios of 2, 4 6 deg C warming.
( http://notrickszone.com/2013/06/02/puzzled-schellnhuber-not-at-all-surprised-short-term-models-are-wrong-but-insists-long-term-models-are-correct/ )
(in the Q&A people forced him to answer on the lack of warming anyway, and he mumbled something about heat going into the oceans)
So the international warmist and communitarian-statist movement tries to ignore the scientific basis now, and go straight to the power grab, and they have synchronously decided to switch to this tactic now in Germany as well as in the US.
And you know which organisation it was last time that said, hey, we take CO2AGW as fact now, not as theory, and how they fared with it?
Right, that was the BBC, and they lost all credibility and never regained it.
Master_Of_Puppets says:
June 2, 2013 at 6:15 pm
“[Germany: Waite Waite … Our Nuclear Plants … Sniff Sniff … [Tear In Eye] … We ARE … the Future ! Of HUMANITY … PURITY … EVERLASTING … SIG HEIL SIG HEIL SIG HEIL]”
Well. Germans are in a mental state that is best described as East Coast liberal. In other words, incapable of thinking rationally. Don’t worry. This permeates all parties.
rogerknights says:
June 3, 2013 at 3:01 am
So maybe that’s why Moniz was OK’d unanimously–because the GOP knows he’s OK with natural gas and nuclear.
=====================================================
No, it’s because 97% of elected Republicans are spineless.
It’s Hipster Hair. from the urban dictionary (love the condescension in this description): “Both hipster men and women sport similar androgynous hair styles that include combinations of messy shag cuts and asymmetric side-swept bangs. Such styles are often associated with the work of creative stylists at urban salons, and are usually too “edgy” for the culturally-sheltered mainstream consumer.”
What’s really funny is that this is an old man pretending to be a hipster, which is just sad.
I wonder if the new Energy Secretary has a position on Chico’s reduced fee for nuclear detonations? 🙂
Nuclear Infractions Are Henceforth Cheaper …
Right after California’s bureaucrats had the brilliant idea to consider a ban on campfires – since campfires are potentially dangerous and therefore a legitimate object of concern for the nannycrats (as the Washington Times notes, ‘enjoying the pleasures of life is just not good for you’)– the bureaucrats running the California town of Chico, the most populous in Butte county, have given birth to an even more astonishing example of cranial flatulence.
“The council has for years approved spending millions of dollars it didn’t have, shifting money around to hide the problem. Now it’s out in the open, and citizens will pay dearly if they dare break city laws.
But there’s good news out there for nuclear bomb owners. The current fine for a first-time violation of the city’s nuclear-free ordinance is $1,064. Under a proposal to revise certain fines, a first-time offense will be reduced to $1,000.
For those of you new to town, this is not a joke.
”http://www.acting-man.com/?p=23705
Maybe Obama could lend him a teleprompter.
I am looking forward to the reign of future Energy Secretary Svalgaard.
He doesn’t have the required hair, or the group-think.
Don B says:
June 3, 2013 at 5:39 am
“[…] object of concern for the nannycrats […]”
Ooooo… nannycrats. I like it.
Again, we are being very judgmental. Don’t we need a giant computer system to model whether Climate Change occurs. I look out my window and see weather. Where do I look for Climate Change??
See, we need to research Climate Change and whether or not it occurs. Forget that CO2 stuff or that CFC stuff or that methane stuff. That stuff is, well, proven stuffy. Its time to band together in an International way to fund Climate Change, and most important, how to “change Climate Change” if Climate Change is changeable and does or does not exist.
As a starting point, we should all agree on what is a “constant”. I would suggest that we research existing papers about “constants” so that we can form a “constant consensus” with at least 97% in “constant agreement”.
Various people have noted the resemblance of Ernie’s hair to historical/fictional people. So, for your viewing pleasure:
Ah, the science fully demands, ah, a prudent response.
Ah, no. Science doesn’t demand any course of action. People who say this are confusing science with policymaking, or worse, activism.
The truly smart people stay out of public service. The rest can’t resist.
;o)) enjoy…
No, too little public speaking. These are classic verbal pauses, typical for all individuals not trained in public communication. The speaker is trying to organize his/her thoughts “on the run”. Rarely is this a successful enterprise. Record yourself on a few occasions when you have to leave a lengthy voice mail. I’ve played back a few, and sometimes I sound like a babbling idiot. It can be a humbling experience. And I’ve had training in public speaking.
Of course, one might expect better of an ex-member of the faculty at MIT. Apparently practice sometimes does not make perfect.
Actually, DJ Hawkins, I’ve personally got no problems with public speaking. But I have lots of experience too.
However, my original intent was to quote the line from Star Trek IV. Either I failed or someone corrected it… not sure which. Either way, whether Moniz is brilliant or an idiot, he certainly doesn’t present himself well. I learned when presenting to groups of people who have money, they don’t always care what you’re saying, they want you to look presentable and sound confident.
Ahh, well that explains it. Even though I am a fan, my Pop Culture IQ generally runs about 75. And I was not directly making any comments on yours or anyone else’s particular abilities. You’re right, Moniz does not present himself well in this instance. While too frequently form triumphs over substance, in this case he has neither.
rogerknights says: June 3, 2013 at 3:01 am
Some environmental groups have fretted about Moniz taking over the Energy Department, given his past support for nonrenewable, waste-producing practices such as hydraulic fracturing and nuclear fission.
It would be smart, politically, for Obama to get behind fracking (and maybe some form of acceptable nuclear), in combination with a push to replace oil heating and to provide a nationwide network of liquified natural gas stations for heavy trucks. It would allow him to keep energy costs down while pushing ahead with his program of phasing out coal-based power.
————————————————————————————
Obama ran on a platform of higher energy costs in 2008. It was an interview with the San Francisco newspaper where he said: “Under my administration energy costs will necessarily skyrocket” Obama *wants* Americans to be made poorer by high energy costs, and he was voted into office anyway.
Whenever I encounter a man with hair like that I think to myself, this man’s barber or hair stylist must have cashed or retired and the loss has impaired his most basic decision making ability, or he’s been on a 6 week mission into outer space or alternatively he’s been on a 6 week bender.
working on the back side of the camera I tend to only bother with haircuts when its time for NAB or IBC (not that I’ve got that much left to worry about) but it’s not like I’m trying to make a fashion statement – but yeah, he looks more like the dude from “no Time…”
I really don;t see the poin in taking snide shots at someone’s hair or lack of eloquence when speaking. For one, they are beside point at hand, i.e. climate science. For another, they are cheap and petty. Perhaps most importantly, I tend to assume that a person engaged in a debate will use the strongest argument or evidence they have at hand in order to make their point; hence, using something so trivial suggests that there is no stronger argument / evidence available to the arguer.
Criticise him on what matters, forget about the drivel.
Or their typos! Yeesh.
CodeTech: Thanks, I never caught that… I am sort of a Trekster… but more so on the original series. Thanks for the clarification!
Replacing one settled-science ideologue with another is not helpful.
Dan in California says: @ June 3, 2013 at 4:37 pm
… Obama ran on a platform of higher energy costs in 2008. It was an interview with the San Francisco newspaper where he said: “Under my administration energy costs will necessarily skyrocket” Obama *wants* Americans to be made poorer by high energy costs, and he was voted into office anyway.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Dan it is a case of those who want my Obama money!! making sure they Vote Early! Vote Often! in the finest tradition of Chicago where in some U.S. cities voter fraud has been so common and so pervasive for so long that it’s more likely to be a punch line than a felony.
What did we ever do before the Department of Energy was created? We must have lived like cave men. Oh sure, the DOE doesn’t produce any energy, but where would we be without the central planning?
T. Boone Pickens’ energy plans could come straight from a Washington think tank. The only redeeming value of his plan is how much tax-payer money gets dumped into his pocket. (Well, it’s redeeming for him, just not anybody else).
There is zero reason to move away from fossil fuels. We have more oil, gas and coal then anybody ever imagined. We could and should start making use of natural gas for transportation fuel, but compress LNG is not the way to go. Gas-to-liquid conversion is a much better solution.
Stephen Brown says:
June 3, 2013 at 1:50 am
Ed Davey is the UK’s Energy Secretary, the man who is supposed to ensure that when you switch on an electric light it actually lights up.
Here’s his take on Energy and Climate Change:-
———————————————————————
I was looking at that last night. For some strange reason I can no longer post comments to the Telegraph. On a different telegraph article, I ran across a commenter complaining that his comment had been deleted, and there were others being censored, also. I was unable to comment on that article, also.
“””””…..John West says:
June 2, 2013 at 4:49 pm
What is not debatable?
“The Earth is round.”
Really? Perfectly round?
It’s debatable…..”””””
Well yes, it is perfectly round; just like an orange. What it is not (either one) is “spherical”.
x^2 + y^2 + z^2 = a^2 has no provision for 8 km high mountains on its surface.