Susana Martinez Picks Harrison Schmitt, Climate Change Denier, to Head NM Energy Dept.

In yet another move to cleanse New Mexico of any and all environmental regulations, green, clean, renewable energy initiatives and efforts to mitigate the growing impact of damaging climate change, GOP Gov. Susana Martinez today named a climate change denier to head New Mexico's Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department. She's cleansing so her big donors can dirty things up with abandon in the state, as never before.

Martinez has chosen former astronaut and senator from New Mexico, Harrison "Jack" Schmitt, aged 75, as a prominent partner in her planned environmental retreat back to the 1950s. Schmitt said as much, right out loud, at today's announcement of his nomination:

I think New Mexico's been ill-served in the past few years. It's very clear that energy-related jobs have been migrating away from the state of New Mexico, and it's time to make sure, in a rational way, that those jobs come back.

Rational. Right. According to the "rational" dictates of Martinez's fossil-fuel energy donors to make more money regardless of what they destroy in the process. Here's an article about some of Schmitt's nefarious connections to oil company-funded groups that work to undermine genuine climate science. By the way, Schmitt has never published a peer-reviewed paper on the topic of climate change. Get the picture?

Environmental Regulation Attack Squad
At today's press conference in Santa Fe, Martinez jumped right into the fray and repeated her attack on the so-called "pit rule," suggesting it would be next up on the environmental regulation chopping block and "will certainly be one of his [Schmitt's] responsibilities immediately."

Schmitt agreed:

This whole regulatory review is something that I think is going to go on throughout the country. The pit rule is just one that has to be looked at to see whether it's really accomplishing anything relative to what its intent was, and whether that intent really was a valid intent to begin with.

Notice Schmitt links the attack on environmental regulations here with the right wing's ferocious attack on anything that protects the environment that's ongoing in many other states and in the nation's capitol. In other words, the Martinez administration is just one cog in the national right-wing corporatist machine that's seeking to undermine all the environmental and energy progress we've made in recent years. All for one and one for all -- and fossil-fuel energy polluters have purchased a ton of huge, comfortable seats at the table both here and in Washington.

Schmitt also clearly telegraphed his intent to crush the state's efforts to develop renewables and green jobs when he was asked a question today about a statewide renewable enrgy transmission authority (RETA):

I have been involved in these so-called renewable resources for many, many years. You have to realize that most of these energy sources today, almost without exception, could not survive in a real economic environment. They either require taxpayer subsidies or ... increased fees.

Schmitt said wind and solor are examples of that. What he neglected to admit is that the fossil fuel industries -- including gas, oil and coal -- receive massive subsidies that not only hold prices down (when it's convenient) but often result in record-breaking profits for dirty energy producers. Schmitt obviously knows that, but like most political hacks who are deep in the pocket of irresponsible energy producers, he refuses to admit it publicly.

Schmitt: Geologist Against Climate Science
By the way, Schmitt is a geologist by education, getting his training so long ago that renewable energy wasn't even on the radar. So it's natural that he's attached to the old-fashioned habit of digging in the earth for energy -- damn the consequences -- as well as in the moon, where he once walked. He believes the moon's natural resources should be exploited by private industry, not explored for public benefit.

Showing his vehement climate-change-denier loyalties, Schmitt quit his post at the Planetary Society -- a nonprofit dedicated to space exploration -- in November 2008 over a number of policy differences, including the Society's "accelerating research into global climate change through more comprehensive Earth observations." In his resignation letter, Schmitt claimed that the "global warming scare is being used as a political tool to increase government control over American lives, incomes and decision-making."

Commenting on the global warming debate, Schmitt said, "It's one of the few times you've seen a sizable portion of scientists who ought to be objective take a political position and it's coloring their objectivity." Here he is on Fox Business in December 2009 bagging the concept of man-made climate change, as well as the need to restrict greenhouse gases and implement cap and trade.

In the interview, he denies there is a "scientific consensus" on climate change, and says "the CO2 scare is a red herring." He states that the "global warming scare is being used as a political tool to increase government control over American lives, incomes and decision-making," and that scientists who might otherwise challenge prevailing views on climate change dare not do so for fear of losing funding.

Dem Party Responds
Commenting on Susana's pick for EMNRD Secretary, DPNM Executive Director Scott Forrestor today said, “Martinez promised bold change and she’s bringing it in the form of an appointee at odds with the basic tenets of science and reason. This appointment is a clear signal to Martinez’s big-oil backers that the days of basic protections for New Mexicans’ air and drinking water are over.”

“Martinez has never said one word about how important it is to have clean air and water in our beautiful state and instead has spent her short time in office ripping down basic environmental protections for our citizens,” Forrester continued. “These moves are either straight payback for her contributors or a blatant disregard for the importance of clean air and water -- not only for the lives of New Mexicans, but for future economic development.”

Schmitt on the Record
On many occasions, Schmitt has scoffed at decades of sound scientific evidence and a mountain of research that validated the human causes of global climate change. Some additional examples:

“I don’t think the human effect is significant compared to the natural effect,” said Schmitt [Former astronaut Harrison Schmitt calls global warming a 'political tool', by Tony Hake, 2/16/09]

“Contrary to categorical statements by many politicians and unfortunately some scientists, including some colleagues of mine, the science of climate change and its causes is not settled - at least not to this geologist,” said Shimitt [Astronaut Harrison Schmitt: Climate change alarmists 'intentionally mislead', by Tony Hake, 3/1/09]

Schmitt said, “No definitive evidence therefore exists to support the hypothesis that the industrial revolution has driven carbon dioxide levels up more rapidly than otherwise expected as a response to long term temperature increases.  No evidence likewise exists AGAINST the conclusion that variations in solar heating remain the overwhelming dominate driver of climate change and weather.” [Astronaut Harrison Schmitt: Climate change alarmists 'intentionally mislead', by Tony Hake, 3/1/09]

Here's local reporter Peter St. Cyr interviewing Schmitt back in December 2009 on KNME's New Mexico In Focus on a variety of topics. In addition to criticizing New Mexico's public spaceport initiative, Schmitt discusses his contention that the vast majority of climate scientists are wrong about the causes of accelerating global warming and climate change (starting at 7:09 minutes):

Ironically, given his long-time battle against the findings of peer-reviewed, professional climate science and any efforts to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, Schmitt claims that he took the iconic photo of the earth from space that has become known as "The Blue Marble." NASA, on the other hand, says only that the photo was taken by one of the Apollo 17 crew back in 1972. The photo has long been used to illustrate the fact that all of us share a fragile and unique home that's vulnerable to the damaging forces of human neglect, greed and thoughtlessness. Like the kind that's defended by Harrison Schmitt, our new Energy Secretary.