From Legal Insurrection via WattsUpWithThat
Chris Wright, Chief Executive of Liberty Energy, a fracking company based in Denver, has been outspoken in challenging climate change pseudoscience and championing sound energy policy.
Posted by Leslie Eastman
President/President-elect Donald Trump has tapped the head of an innovative fracking firm to serve as the next Department of Energy Secretary.
Chris Wright is the Chief Executive of Liberty Energy, a fracking company based in Denver. Wright’s appointment is on-brand for Trump’s new template for candidates: Wright is innovative, embraces new approaches to energy development, and is not connected to the Deep State.
More importantly, for Americans who appreciate accessible, reliable, and inexpensive energy, Wright does not believe the “climate crisis” hysteria.
The ire from progressives just drips from The New York Times announcement of this pick. The digs at his “lack of government experience” are completely hilarious.
Mr. Wright, who calls himself “a tech nerd turned entrepreneur,” is a media-friendly evangelist for fossil fuels who promotes a feel-good message that oil and gas can lift people out of poverty, while disparaging climate science.
In a video posted on LinkedIn last year, Mr. Wright declared, “There is no climate crisis, and we’re not in the midst of an energy transition either.”
Mr. Wright, who has no government experience, caught the attention of Mr. Trump in part through his appearances on Fox News. He also appears frequently on podcasts and social media videos, often using language and imagery associated with progressive causes to link oil and gas with issues like the fight for women’s equality.
Mr. Trump announced Mr. Wright’s appointment in a statement and praised him as a “leading technologist and entrepreneur in energy.” He said in addition to leading the Energy Department, Mr. Wright would also be a member of the newly formed council of national energy.
As I said, completely-on-brand for Trump 2.0.
Wright founded the company in 2011. Since he has been at the Helm, Liberty Energy has grown into into one of the largest fracking companies in the United States.
Under his leadership, Liberty Energy reached a significant milestone in September 2021 by achieving 24 hours of continuous 24-hours of continuous pumping time with zero non-productive time for an oil company in the Permian Basin (a region that should be now familiar to Legal Insurrection Readers). It is currently the fourth largest oilfield service company in North America and its annual revenues were $41 billion in 2022.
What were the qualifications of Biden’s Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm? She was the Governor of Michigan and endeavored to foist sustainability priorities on the automotive companies. And let’s not forget how she ran the Department: Declaring war on our appliances and using her privilege to jump to the head of a charging station line.
Wright isn’t afraid of challenging climate virtue signalling, either. In 2021, Liberty Energy launched a campaign praising high end sports apparel company, The North Face, for using petroleum products in their clothing while criticizing the stance on sustainability. The energy firm commissioned billboards and videos highlighting The North Face’s reliance on fossil fuels for their products.
The billboards were incredible.
I have longed for representatives of the fossil fuel industry to fight the underhanded tactics used by climate-crisis promoters. In a LinkedIn video, Wright shows he will be a champion of sane energy policy.
“There is no climate crisis….and we are not in the midst of an energy transition either.
“Humans and all complex life on Earth is simply impossible without carbon dioxide. Hence the term “carbon pollution is outrageous.
“Carbon dioxide does, indeed, absorb infrared radiation, contributing to warming. But calling carbon dioxide “pollution is like calling out water and oxygen, the other two irreplaceable molecules for life on Earth.
“There is no such thing as clean energy or dirty energy. All energy sources have impacts on the world, both positive and negative.”
Energy enables all human activity and is too important to cheapen the dialog using these 5 deceptive, alarmist terms….climate crisis, energy transition, carbon pollution, clean energy, and dirty energy.
I wish Wright all good success, as he will be undoing the destruction wrought under both Obama and Biden.
