Rick Perry, New USA Secretary of Energy

President-Elect Donald Trump(70) has recently appointed former Texas governor "Rick Perry(66)" as the new Secretary of Energy. Rick Perry has BSc degree from Texas A&M University "Animal Science", then served as military pilot in Air Force and as Texas governor for last three terms. He was the board member of the investment group "Energy Transfer Partners" which plans to construct 1172km "Dakota Access Pipeline" in North Dakota. That controversial pipeline project was passing through "Standing Rock" Indian land and thus created public reaction from environmentalists. His attitudes were well known against climate change and global warming. In his 2012 presidential elections debate, he used inappropriate wording against Turkey. He said that our country is ruled by Islamic terrorists, hence Turkey should be dispelled from Nato and receive no financial aid. He further said that Environmental protection agency EPA should be dissolved, since their environmental protection activities are useless. So weird to say that now he is the head of the department which covers EPA.

Donald Trump advisers asked the Department of Energy to list and declare the people who worked in environmental laws rules regulation, those who participated to "Climate Change" conferences, who presented papers in those conferences. We understand that these public officials will not hold their posts any more. Coal, shale gas, fossil fuel firing thermal power plants will operate more. More coal will be produced, Global warming will be neglected. Climate change will be accelerated in time, and lowlands of the world will be flooded with seawater. However there are laws, rules, norms, regulations to protect environment, and it is not so easy to reverse the legislation so easy.

Donald Trump selected successful business people, multimillionaires for the other posts almost all with no political experience. Exxon CEO "Rex Tillerson" eventually came up among numerous candidates for the Foreign Office as secretary of state. Born in 1952, "Rex Tillerson" (64) graduate of Texas University department of Construction engineering, his whole life has pasted in Exxon Oil company. He was consulting Vladimir Putin for last 20 years in oil exploration in remote Siberian tundra. Rex has received "medal of merit" from Russians for his economic contributions to Russian economy. He further worked in Yemen, Northern Iraq. He knows all these regions very well, although he speaks no foreign language. He is not agains to ShaleGas explorations and productions, but he is opposed to ShaleGas production facilities close to his mansion in Bartonville, Texas, saying "not in my back yard".

Conservative social, environmental policies and immigration practices of Donald Trump may further receive approval from other countries of the world. Developed countries may repeat the same refugee return policies, they can close their borders to poor refugees. They may raise border walls, impose more customs tax, and increase firing fossil fuels.

Donald Trump will sworn in to take over the presidency on January 2017. Then there will be many different drastic changes and developments in Climate Change as well as in the Middle East region. Foresight for the transition period and shaping new energy policies are too hard to make but we are sure that they are not going to be easy.

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Haluk Direskeneli, is a graduate of METU Mechanical Engineering department (1973). He worked in public, private enterprises, USA Turkish JV companies (B&W, CSWI, AEP), in fabrication, basic and detail design, marketing, sales and project management of thermal power plants. He is currently working as freelance consultant/ energy analyst with thermal power plants basic/ detail design software expertise for private engineering companies, investors, universities and research institutions. He is a member of ODTÜ Alumni and Chamber of Turkish Mechanical Engineers Energy Working Group.

This article is written for the "EurasiaReview" news web site.

http://www.eurasiareview.com/author/haluk-direskeneli/

Prinkipo, 14 December, 2016