Kathleen Hartnett White was a top environmental regulator in Texas from 2001 to 2007. Now, President Trump has chosen her to lead the Council on Environmental Quality, which helps create and implement national policy.
Hartnett White was not available for an interview, but her record since leaving state service suggests she would stand out 鈥� even in an administration proudly aligned with industry 鈥� for the fervency of her support for fossil fuels.
That fervency has defined her recent policy work.
with an Oregon Christian television station last year, she warned that solar and wind energy might 鈥渄isfigure the country,鈥� phrasing her argument in quasi-messianic terms.
鈥淔ossil fuels are the remains of life 鈥� plant and animal life,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey come back through burning them to amplify our lives, to do work that we otherwise would have to do ourselves.鈥�
She has called CO2 " ," suggested , and co-written a book about the historical benefits of oil, gas and coal, called , which served as a polemic against Obama-era efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
鈥淭he book has all kinds of examples of the really beneficial impacts of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere,鈥� she said. 鈥淪atellites already show a greening of the earth in part from the very small amount of carbon dioxide involved with using fossil fuels鈥�
The notion that human-made CO2 is helping the environment is widely 鈥揳nd by the Hartnett White cited. But she ultimately believes the science behind climate change itself is itself profoundly unsettled, going as far to suggest climate policy is part of a communist conspiracy.
鈥淎ll climate policies assume a far more centralized, powerful government to control the economy and individual lives, like giving us a rationing card for the number of miles we can drive in a year,鈥� she said in .
While rhetoric like this has a large and enthusiastic audience, it鈥檚 easy to imagine it falling flat at a Senate confirmation hearing. But in other interviews and in previous appearances before in D.C., she鈥檚 also occupied more moderate ground.
In an interview with KUT in 2011, she leaned less on conspiratorial language when describing her philosophy on climate policy.
鈥淚 think that teamwork 鈥� everybody at the table together 鈥� is how you get a really effective solution.鈥�
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