23 December 2008

"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: If we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome."

Anne Bradstreet, poet

http://www.annebradstreet.com/anne_bradstreet_bio_001.htm

11 December 2008

Obama Names Environmental and Energy Team

Today President-Elect Obama named his leaders for his environmental team.

A Nobel Prize winner -- no not that Nobel Prize winner -- will head the Obama Administration's Energy Department, while a former state-level environmental chief will lead the Environmental Protection Agency and Clinton's former EPA chief will step into a new role as an "energy czar."

Steven Chu, Energy Secretary

The Department of Energy is mostly about nuclear weapons and nuclear power, along with a bunch of energy industry analysts, but it also holds the biggest grouping in the world of renewable energy researchers. Chu -- unlike Al Gore, that other Nobel Prize winner -- doesn't believe that the world has all the technology it needs to solve the global warming crisis ... which means he's likely to push for increased research. That's a good thing. Also a good thing: He believes there's a global warming crisis.

Andy Revkin's DotEarth blog has more on Chu.

Lisa Jackson, EPA Administrator

A former Clinton EPA official and more recently the head of New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection, Jackson has a mixed record. The New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club had kind words about Jackson, according to the Associated Press, but a coalition of smaller groups expressed concerns about the agency's allegedly lax enforcement of environmental laws, like the cleanup of hazardous waste sites.

Carol Browner, Energy Czar

Browner is a well-respected environmental advocate, having led Florida's Department of Environmental Protection, advised Gore as a senator, led Clinton's EPA, chaired the National Audubon Society, and most recently acted as a private attorney and investment adviser on issues related to climate, energy and the environment. The only question is exactly what she'll do, since her title and responsibilities aren't clearly outlined.

Nancy Sutley, Chair, Council on Environmental Quality

Sutley, the Los Angeles Deputy Mayor for energy and environment, has been involved in that city's significant greening efforts, such as its goal of drawing 10% of its power from the sun, its requirement that public buildings meet LEED green building standards, its effort to improve carpooling and public transportation in the notoriously freeway-based region and its plan to plant 1 million trees.

Recap: Obama's Speech on Global Warming

In a speech delivered via video to a bipartisan climate summit in California in November, Obama pledged to take strong action to combat global warming:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvG2XptIEJk&eurl=http://www.thedailygreen.com/print-this/environmental-news/latest/obama-energy-environment-47121102&feature=player_embedded