Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., is pressing Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm for answers regarding a recent study by two groups with ties to her department that determined in order to reduce the demand for lithium, a key component in electric car batteries, Americans should move to cities and avoid buying cars.
The study, "Achieving Zero Emissions with More Mobility and Less Mining," was released in January and conducted by the University of California, Davis and the Climate Community Project.
In a letter to Granholm dated Wednesday, Barrasso said UC Davis' Energy Efficiency Institute website lists the Department of Energy as a partner, and one UC Davis staff member, and two students credited with writing the study are part of the Energy Efficiency Institute. The letter also said Shalanda Baker, the DOE's director of the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity, is listed as a member on the Climate Community Project's website.
"This prompts several questions about DOE's involvement in such areas of study," Barrasso, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, wrote, "DOE should be promoting American industries and American energy, not stifling growth and constraining the choices of individual consumers."
The study advocates "the transition to electrified transportation is essential for decarbonization. This transition will be both speedier and more globally just if the United States reduces car dependency, expands mass transit, and thereby reduces the lithium intensity of the electrified transportation system."
Barrasso wrote, "The notion that the government should tell people where to live or how to get around is on its face ridiculous. In my home state of Wyoming, people rely on their cars to cross the vast stretches of highway between towns, over plains, and through the mountains. People live in Wyoming because they want to get away from federal overreach, not to have Washington bureaucrats dictate their lifestyles."
Barrasso's letter included several questions for Granholm to answer, including whether the Biden administration supports reducing the number of cars in the U.S. and increasing urban populations by reducing rural populations; whether it supports lithium mining in the U.S.; whether it supports reducing mineral production by eliminating the need for cars; and more details on Baker's involvement with the Climate and Community Project, and whether she was involved with writing the report.
"In order to keep the American taxpayer appraised of how their money is being spent, please answer each question thoughtfully and respond by March 17," Barrasso wrote.
Newsmax reached out to the Department of Energy for comment.
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