Ames, Iowa (RI) — US Energy Secretary Chris Wright toured the Ames National Lab at Iowa State University on Thursday.
One of the Lab’s core research priorities is developing ways to extract and re-use rare earth elements from electronic waste in everything from smartphones to missiles and jet fighters. Wright says the U-S relies too heavily on other countries to supply and process critical materials.
The Department of Energy has proposed cutting hundreds of millions of dollars for renewable energy programs, but Wright says he supports technologies that contribute to U-S energy.
The think tank Ember Energy reports that wind and solar last year provided a combined 17 percent of US energy, surpassing coal for the first time. Wright says priorities for the agency include nuclear and next-generation geothermal.
The Department of Energy removed the National Climate Assessments from its website earlier this year. Wright says climate change is a “true physical phenomenon” but not the “world’s greatest problem.”
Wright was joined by Congresswomen Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Ashley Hinson, Senator Joni Ernst, and representatives of the Conservative Climate Caucus. He’s the fourth cabinet member to visit Iowa this week.
(By Rachel Cramer, Iowa Public Radio)
KIWA Staff Photo
