This week President Donald Trump signed an executive order on climate change attempting to restore the coal industry and overturn President Obama’s previous Climate Protection Act that puts limits on emissions from U.S. businesses.
“One of the biggest increases we are looking at right now is the increased emphasis on coal industry,” Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, a Climate Scientist and Professor at Texas Tech said.
Dr. Hayhoe said President Trump’s idea on re-vamping the coal industry is backwards thinking for Texas.
“Here in Texas we have a huge potential for growth in the energy economy and going backwards to coal is kind of like trying to stop the production of the Model T Ford and going back to horses. It just doesn’t make sense for us,” Dr. Hayhoe said.
She said the future for Texas needs to be focused on clean energy.
“Our wind and our solar industries are booming. Here in Texas the wind energy sector already employs nearly 30,000 people,” Dr. Hayhoe said.
Dr. Hayhoe was recently named one of the Top 50 World’s Greatest Leaders by Fortune Magazine for her ability to bring the idea of climate change to skeptical audiences. Back in October of 2016 she sat down with President Barack Obama and Leonardo DiCaprio discussing how important it is to protect our planet for the future.
“Something is different today, we aren’t seeing the same conditions we saw 20, 30 to 50 years ago,” Dr. Hayhoe said.
