In response to a lengthy survey sent out to DoE leadership by the Trump transition team — which, in addition to other info, asked for lists of employees who had attended climate change conferences, worked on climate change research, etc., the DoE has responded:
'“The Department of Energy received significant feedback from our workforce throughout the department, including the National Labs, following the release of the transition team’s questions. Some of the questions asked left many in our workforce unsettled,” said Eben Burnham-Snyder, a department spokesman. “Our career workforce, including our contractors and employees at our labs, comprise the backbone of DOE (Department of Energy) and the important work our department does to benefit the American people. We are going to respect the professional and scientific integrity and independence of our employees at our labs and across our department.
“We will be forthcoming with all publicly-available information with the transition team. We will not be providing any individual names to the transition team.” Burnham-Snyder’s email had the last sentence in boldface for emphasis.'
That's not a permanent solution — in theory Rick Perry, as the new head, can dispose of non-civil-service executives and use them to wheedle out the information once the Trump Administration gets underway. But it's the right answer in standing up to what looks like a witch hunt.
Energy Dept. rejects Trump’s request to name climate change workers, who remain worried
The scientists and their colleagues at Energy know global warming is real. What they don’t know is what Trump might do to those whose work has been in line with the science and the Obama administration, which has spoken about “the urgent imperatives of climate change.”
