Ken Salazar wants windmills in the ocean, but first he'll have to save the Interior Department

A A A Comments (2) By Alan Prendergast Thursday, Apr 2 2009

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New Interior sheriff Ken Salazar with his deputy, Tom Strickland, announces a new ethics policy at the federal center in Lakewood.

Economist Pete Morton contends that the Bush drilling boom, the biggest in twenty years, encouraged energy speculators and cheated taxpayers.

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To read Inspector General Earl Devaney's reports, download them here and here. Read previous Westword stories about the Roan Plateau here.

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If he's worried, he doesn't show it. In a recent interview, he beamed brisk confidence, brushing off a question about how many of his directives to date have been drafted in the White House. "I don't frankly care who gets credit for these agendas, which are important to the nation for generations to come," he said. "I have a great relationship with President Obama and his people, and they're very open to my suggestions. We've had countless meetings to talk about how we'll move forward on energy and climate change. I have the advantage of having worked on these issues in the Senate. All that, I think, helps us move the agenda forward."

Will the crowds still cheer the new sheriff, once he presents them with the bill for cleaning up the place? The question lingered, unasked, as the Secretary broke off the interview, declaring that he had to go meet with the president of Palau — an island republic that, like Salazar himself, enjoys a complex and still-evolving relationship with the Department of the Interior.

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Mark Brennan 04/02/2009 6:56:00 PM

Thanks, Alan, for your characteristically thoughtful, well-researched, and well-written article. You accurately portray Ken Salazar as a more decent and fair-minded person than most politicians, and most who have preceded him at Interior. I agree that he will, within the limits of his power, do a much better job than most at striking a reasonable balance between environmental concerns and the obvious necessity of developing oil, gas and coal fields within his jurisdiction. I would add, however, that no one should imagine that he and Tom Strickland have assumed leadership of the agency because they are a serious threat to the extremely powerful interests that have long enjoyed undue influence with Interior. Neither is a true reformer or advocate for the little guy. Both come from a stable of politicians or operatives from both parties groomed with fat partner shares and held in reserve by Hogan and Hartson, Brownstein, Hyatt, Farber and Shrek, and other bag men for Big Business and Big Government.

John 04/02/2009 1:24:00 AM

Great work, Ken. Windmills in the ocean- a plan that will satisfy the liberals for now, but further confound them later. The wind mills have been found to be destructive to whales mating habits, and drive away fish and other ocean life because of their vibrations. They destroy eco-systems. Oh well, the liberals will find a way to blame it on the 'big wind' companies and their greed...