Energy Secretary Rick Perry thinks he's found the solution to sexual assault: fossil fuels
Energy Secretary Rick Perry claimed Thursday that fossil fuels help prevent sexual assault, a baffling assertion that prompted the Sierra Club to call for his resignation, The Hill reports.
Speaking to Meet the Press host Chuck Todd and Axios founder Jim VandeHei on Thursday, Perry described his recent trip to South Africa. "It's going to take fossil fuels to push power out into these villages in Africa, where a young girl told me to my face, 'One of the reasons that electricity is so important to me is not only because I'm not going to have to try to read by the light of a fire and have those fumes literally killing people,'" Perry said. "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."
The Sierra Club's executive director, Michael Brune, responded by saying Perry "does not deserve to hold office another day with these twisted ideas, and he should resign from his position immediately before he causes any more damage."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Today's political cartoons - April 18, 2024
Cartoons Thursday's cartoons - impeachment Peanuts, record-breaking temperatures, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Pros and cons of solar energy
Pros and cons Solar power could become the primary source of electricity worldwide by 2050 – but there are still clouds in the forecast
By Rebecca Messina, The Week UK Published
-
Post Office's Capture software to be reviewed over 'glitches'
Speed Read Solicitor representing accused postmasters says flaws in the IT system follow 'very similar pattern' to Horizon
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published