The Sierra Club demanded Energy Secretary Rick Perry quit after he praised fossil fuels Thursday as a source of power to light darkened, high-crime areas in Africa and other poor regions with soaring rates of sexual assaults.
Michael Brune, executive director of the environmental group, called Perry's comment "twisted ideas," The Hill reported.
"It was already clear that Rick Perry is unfit to lead the Department of Energy, but to suggest that fossil fuel development will decrease sexual assault is not only blatantly untrue, it is an inexcusable attempt to minimize a serious and pervasive issue," he said.
Perry, addressing an energy-policy conference in Washington, D.C., noted he recently returned from a visit to Africa where he heard people complain about the lack of electrical power.
"But also from the standpoint of sexual assault, when the lights are on, when you have light that shines the righteousness, if you will, on those types of acts," said the former Texas governor.
"So from the standpoint of how you really affect people's lives, fossil fuels is going to play a role in that. I happen to think, it's going to play a positive role."
Africa has a high rate of sexual assault, where 60,000 rapes are reported annually to police in South Africa alone, the BBC reported.
In the United States, police regularly advise women to avoid poorly lit streets where sexual assaults are more likely.
The most promising immediate source of power for continents like Africa is fossil fuels, not wind and solar, Scientific American reported.
"Renewable energy is in Africa's future," the magazine said. "But coal and natural gas is the future for the power-starved continent."
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