149: Fossil Fuel Foxes Congressional Dish

Exxon Mobil’s CEO is now the Secretary of State. The Koch Brothers’ Congressman is the CIA Director. We’ve already seen signs that the Trump Administration and the fossil fuel industry are merging. In this episode, hear the highlights of the confirmation hearings of the two men now most responsible for environmental law enforcement in the United States: Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Scott Pruitt. Will they protect the environment from the fossil fuel industry or did President Trump appoint foxes to guard the henhouse? Please support Congressional Dish: to contribute using credit card, debit card, PayPal, or Bitcoin to support Congressional Dish for each episode via Patreon Mail Contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North #4576 Crestview, FL 32536 Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes Additional Reading Article: by Samantha Page, Think Progress, April 19, 2017. Article: by Sam Levin, The Guardian, April 17, 2017. News Release: , U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, April 13, 2017. Op-Ed: by Jack Lienke, Grist, April 12, 2017. Article: by Hiroko Tabuchi, The New York Times, April 10, 2017. Article: by Richard Nemec, Natural Gas Intel, April 6, 2017. Article: by Eric Lipton, The New York Times, March 29, 2017. Article: by Bryan Schott, UtahPolicy.com, March 27, 2017. Press Release: , U.S. Department of the Interior, March 16, 2017. Press Release: , U.S. Department of the Interior, March 15, 2017. Article: by Rob Chaney, Missoulian, March 10, 2017. Press Release: , U.S. Department of the Interior, March 6, 2017. Article: by Thomas Burr, The Salt Lake Tribune, March 1, 2017. Article: by Rong-Gong Lin II, The Los Angeles Times, March 1, 2017. Article: by Brady Dennis and Steven Mufson, The Washington Post, February 22, 2017. Article: by Natasha Geiling, Think Progress, February 19, 2017. Article: by Kirk Siegler, NPR, February 5, 2017. Article: by Heather Brown, CBS Minnesota, January 24, 2017. Document: by The American Lung Association Article: by Merrit Kennedy, NPR, December 20, 2016. Article: by Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, December 16, 2016. Press Release: , U.S. Department of the Interior, November 15, 2016. Article: by Holly Michels, Montana Standard, October 14, 2016. Article: by Joby Warrick and Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post, January 15, 2016. Article: by Daniel J. Weiss and Miranda Peterson, Center for American Progress, February 10, 2014. References Encyclopedia Britannica: Fact Sheet: , US Department of the Interior U.S. Energy Information Administration: U.S. Energy Information Administration: Environmental Protection Agency: Environmental Protection Agency: Environmental Protection Agency: GovTrack: GovTrack: OpenSecrets: OpenSecrets: Sound Clip Sources Hearing: Interior Secretary Confirmation - Ryan Zinke, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, January 17, 2017. Timestamps & Transcripts Part 1 42:54 Senator Lisa Murkowski: Will you commit to a formal review of all of the Obama administration’s actions that took resource-bearing lands and waters in Alaska effectively off the table, including the decisions that specifically prevented the leasing of those lands and those waters for development, and determine whether or not they can be reversed? Ryan Zinke: Yes. I think the president-elect has said that we want to be energy independent. As a former Navy Seal, I think I’ve been to 63 countries in my lifetime, and I can guarantee it is better to produce energy domestically under [missing audio] than watch it be produced overseas with no regulation. I’ve seen the consequences of what happens when you don’t have any regulation in the Middle East. We can do it right. The backbone of our environmental policies has been NEPA, and I’m a strong supporter of NEPA, but we also have to understand that we need an economy. And, look,