Satisfying our global energy appetite: Former DOE Under Secretary Raymond Orbach looks ahead
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u have had a distinguished career in energy with influential positions at the U.S. Department of Energy and now at the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin, but you began your professional life in the University of California system. At what point did your interest in energy take off and how did that occur? RAYMOND L. ORBACH: I’ve always been interested in energy. When oil was really cheap, no one ever talked about energy, but one of the issues where I grew up in southern California was energy efficiency, and in particular automobiles, so smog was a major issue. When I was at the University of California, Riverside, I was very much involved with a program where we worked with automobile manufacturers to improve performance and
reduce emissions. Then when I moved to the U.S. Department of Energy and was in charge of energy-related basic research, my familiarity with global energy issues really blossomed. As we speak, the 2012 U.S. budget is still being debated. Preliminary indications are that science and energy will contain little or no growth relative to previous years. If funding for science and energy ends up suffering cuts, what should we keep and what is secondary? Owing to the budget deficit, you will see draconian cuts across the board, except in science! If you look at the markups from the House and Senate for DOE, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, they’ve been cut by 0.5% to 1%. But that’s MRS BULLETIN
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nothing compared to the reductions that other elements in the government are going to receive. People who want to see huge increases ought to recognize the relative support that Congress is giving to basic research in the current budget climate.
Interview •
Energy Quarterly
Satisfying our global energy appetite: Former DOE Under Secretary Raymond Orbach looks ahead
Sustainable energy that is affordable, environmentally green, and readily available is the long-term goal, but the economy and national security loom large in the near future. How do you balance these sometimes conflicting priorities? I frankly don’t see them in conflict. My view is that current energy sources are going to be around a long time, and they are critical to energy security. There’s no reason why we can’t make them green with modern technology. A timely example is the Canadian tar sands. I’ve been to Fort McMurray, Alberta, where oil is produced from the sands. And while the tar sands have gotten a bad rap, I’ve got to tell you that something like over 90% of the water—and they use a lot—goes back into rivers and streams at the appropriate purity. In addition, a separate organization monitors air quality from all of the production sites along the rivers and streams in Alberta. Finally, when they’re finished with a site, it has to be returned to its original condition. I think the Canadians have done a very good job at showing that you don’t have to despoil the environment when you work with oil and gas.
VOLUME 36 • DECEMBER 2011
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www.mrs.org/bulletin • E
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