Trump admin. wants 72% budget slash for clean energy research

You know any politician is going to cater to their donors’ interests to a point, and that includes the president. But never before has a White House been so plainly bought and paid for to the extent that we can practically see its receipt sticking out:

The Trump administration is poised to ask Congress for deep budget cuts to the Energy Department’s renewable energy and energy efficiency programs, slashing them by 72 percent overall in fiscal 2019, according to draft budget documents obtained by The Washington Post.

Many of the sharp cuts would likely be restored by Congress, but President Trump’s budget due out in February will mark a starting point for negotiations and offer a statement of intent and policy priorities.

The document underscores the administration’s continued focus on the exploitation of fossil fuel resources — or as Trump put it in his State of the Union address, “beautiful clean coal” — over newer renewable technologies seen as a central solution to the problem of climate change.

As usual with Trump, it’s hard to tell how much of this stems from his desire to please his rich industry friends versus his apparent contempt for anything that’s remotely good for the country. Absolutely no-one gains from this except for oil executives; as I’ve noted before, studies are making it clear that clean and renewable energy is already the better option financially, as it costs less to operate (and is more productive) than fossil fuel plants. And that’s not even mentioning the vast environmental benefits, which matter to people who are fans of air that doesn’t give them black lung.

But Trump doesn’t give a damn about any of that, if he’s even aware of it. He’s got rich pals to please.

(via @BadAstronomer)