Exclusive: In honor of Earth Day, Energy Secretary Chris Wright Video released Talks about his own experiences growing up in a much dirty world in Denver, watching wildlife and greenery return to the mountains as he ages, and how the effects of smarter energy were at the forefront of its ongoing change:
Wright was a young child in Denver when the first Earth Day was celebrated on the Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia on April 22, 1970.
However, while the Green Movement acquired its roots in Industrial Pennsylvania, Colorado was dealing with a similar air quality struggle in its capital.
“One of the three from my mountains, one of four days, air quality and lung problems were very common,” says a video obtained by Fox News Digital.
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VP JD Vance, left, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, right. In Greenland. Wright celebrated the 55th anniversary of Earth Day on Tuesday. (Reuters)
“Denver has since exploded with population and economic activity, but the air has been dramatically cleaned. That’s the technology and wealth in the workplace.”
Wright said six explicitly named contaminants – carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ground level ozone and particulate matter – have fallen by about three-quarters over the past 55 years.
Meanwhile, he said, “The economy has expanded, the population has grown, travel and leisure have been born all over the world.”
“But in a wealthy society, we have created cleaner air, cleaner water and a return of greater wildlife,” Wright added.
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The snow covers the I-75 salruncape facing westward towards the rocky mountains. (Photo of Tony Savino/Corbis by Getty Images)
As a natural outdoorsman who grew up in Rocky Mountain, Wright rarely saw large wildlife while venturing out as a child.
However, it is not uncommon for him to see a moose, a mountain lion, or a bear when he returns home. He is development caused by the differences that Earth Day and responsible energy development has given the country.
““The return of wildlife, the cleaning of the air, the cleaning of our water are truly something to celebrate and they have been driven by increasing the wealth and the energy available to society,” he said.
“Are we finished already?
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A major scenic view along the Appalachian Trail, the trail sign at Klingman’s Dome appears on May 11, 2018 near Cherokee, North Carolina. Great Smoky Mountains National Park spans the Tennessee and North Carolina border in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains. (George Rose/Getty Images)
He lamented that in most parts of the world, people cannot enjoy clean, reliable energy and water, especially in poor countries.
Wright said Westerners use stoves and grills, but 2 billion people around the world still rely on animal feces, wood or incineration waste to cook.
“Of course we’ve made progress,” Wright said.
“But healthy humans, long opportunities-rich lives, clean air, clean water, thriving ecosystems. A wealthy and well-kept society is key to achieving those goals.”
