I literally know nothing more about our new Commerce Secretary than I learned in this article about his successful confirmation in the U.S. Senate today. I’ve never heard of him. I see he has sat on the board of directors at Walt Disney and Boeing. I don’t find that very endearing. I see he used to run Edison International, which is a major utility holding company. That’s not giving me a warm, fuzzy feeling. But then I read that he’s something of an environmentalist. He’s the co-founder of an organization called Natural Resources Defense Council. What can I learn about them?
The selection of [John Edgar] Bryson shows that Obama “has no intention of backing down on his job-killing war on affordable energy,” said Republican Sen. James Inhofe, one of Bryson’s fiercest opponents. Inhofe called the Natural Resources Defense Council “one of the most radical, left-wing, extreme environmental groups.”
Sen. Inhofe of Oklahoma was one of twenty-six Republicans to oppose Mr. Bryson’s confirmation. They didn’t care that Bryson was supported by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers.
The NRDC was co-founded in 1970 by John Adams, Gus Speth, John Bryson and a group of concerned law students and attorneys at the forefront of the environmental movement. The organization lobbies Congress and other public officials for a public policy that promotes conservation of the natural and built environment. The NRDC works against urban sprawl, pollution, and habitat destruction, and promotes actions to mitigate global warming and increase the use of renewable energy. It also sometimes files suit in federal court against corporations and government agencies for violations of the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act. Other operations carried out by the NRDC include public education and sponsorship of scientific studies.
Imagine that. How did he rise up to run a major utility corporation? You mean you can provide people with energy without being an asshole?
Maybe he’s not such a bad pick to be Commerce Secretary after all.