Obamas Energy Secretary Addresses Trumps Attacks on His Legacy
MIT’s Ernest Moniz has taken on new roles preventing nuclear war, advocating for clean energy, and criticizing Trump’s policies.
by James Temple
July 11, 2017
During nearly four years as U.S. energy secretary, Ernest Moniz earned a reputation as a savvy political hand, particularly as nuclear physicists go, while his Founding Fathers–style locks made him the most meme-able member of President Barack Obama’s cabinet (see “Moniz Nominated as Energy Secretary”).
But when Donald Trump took office, Moniz returned to his academic home at MIT, serving as a professor emeritus and special advisor to President L. Rafael Reif. He held his fire in the early weeks of the new administration as the White House took aim at Obama’s Climate Action Plan, appointed climate-change deniers to critical posts, and sought deep funding cuts to the Energy Department. In more recent weeks, however, Moniz has returned to the public stage, condemning Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement in op-eds and media interviews. He also trolled his successor on Twitter, responding to a story in which Energy Secretary Rick Perry advocated an “all of the above” strategy with the retort: “Sounds familiar.”
Last month, he took on a new role as chief executive of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, bringing his experience helping to negotiate the Iran nuclear deal and reviewing the global weapons stockpile to an organization dedicated to preventing attacks with weapons of mass destruction. He also recently joined the board of the fusion startup Tri Alpha Energy and helped established the Energy Futures Initiative, a nonprofit promoting clean-energy innovation and policies.
In a recent interview with MIT Technology Review, Moniz discussed the impact of the administration’s policies on U.S. leadership, how it feels to have his legacy come under attack, and what’s next for nuclear power.
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https://www.technologyreview.com/s/608223/obamas-energy-secretary-addresses-trumps-attacks-on-his-legacy/?set=608258
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Kudos to Ernest Moniz for speaking out! It's long past time somebody did... 
