December 16, 2008
Obama Confirms Green Team
President-elect Barack Obama has confirmed his green team. Steven Chu, a Nobel-winning physicist has been named the Energy Secretary. Carol Browner, the former EPA chief has been tapped to be the climate “Czar.” Lisa Jackson, former New Jersey environmental regulator will now run the EPA.
At a press conference in Chicago, Obama said the future of innovation and technology is going to be what drives the American economy into the future, “And the energy economy is going to be part of what creates the millions of jobs we need.”
However, CNET reported that Obama’s energy and environmental team faces growing challenges in implementing broad changes. For one, the global economic downturn has slowed the green movement, and Europeans, typically leaders in the green movement, have voiced doubt about its ability to create millions of jobs.
Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund had faith in the administration and applauded the appointment saying, “This new position reflects a deep commitment to leadership on climate change, and Carol Browner brings the perfect combination of experience and drive to the job. She understands that solving climate change will help rebuild our economy.”
But some of Browner’s adversaries are concerned that her return will veer the new administration too far left.
The Baltimore Sun reported that critics are not too pleased about another nomination –Lisa Jackson. The online newspaper cited Politico, which reported that critics say Jackson has been “too close to industry, withheld information from the public – and fallen well short of the pledge she made when taking office in February 2006 to fix the state’s beleaguered toxic waste program.”
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Reader Comments
First off – I believe Global Warming is a very serious “Very Real- Man Induced” problem.
However, I do not believe the US is to blame. All we did was develop technologies that the rest of the world would have, if they could have. We were, and are, simply more technologically advanced[ [and the world is very jealous of this, and therefore all the criticism, not to mention that we are the worlds only Superpower, and the world is also jealous of that. Kyoto is as much an attempt to undermine our economy as an attempt to solve Global Warming. Much of the world is just using it as an Economic Tool against us – and many people in the US see this for exactly what it is, Hypocrisy,….. and much of the world knows we know. Probably the main reason even Clinton and Gore would not truly support Kyoto]].
Having a degree in Natural Resources I think the evidence (about global warming) is very Clear and Convincing ‘today’. However, I was not really sure until about 1995, even though I started seeing strong evidence around about 1985. At that point a noticeable warm up started (at least where I was living, & others said they noticed it also, in my area & elsewhere). In my opinion the evidence gradually got stronger till 95, when I thought the evidence was strong enough (and has only gotten stronger, today it is downright scary – the Arctic Ice Cap Meltdown – not funny). So, I really don’t think you can blame us till then (95), and many still don’t (or don’t want to) see it, & not just in the US. However, since 95 the US has made many moves (on many fronts) to combat the problem, and many other countries are dragging their feet, or have been given a free pass (the main Kyoto problem). One of the biggest examples here is China…..but there are others.
The world says it is our Industry that caused the problem (they don’t talk about Britain, and other Industrialized nations as much), but it is also probably mostly ‘Our Technology’ that is going to solve it……………….[I could also throw in many examples of other countries stealing our technology on the international market (weak international patent protections, and many anti-US countries want it that way), the vast majority of SE Asian Industries are built on Appropriated US Technology……. Etc., Etc…………………….…
Our Technology and Industry also saved the world in WWI, WWII, and the Cold War (not to mention other situations). If we had not spent all those years developing various Industries, and Aircraft, & Jeeps, & Tanks, & Ships the afore-mentioned wars would have been lost [[prior to Pearl Harbor the only modern Fighter Plane in SE Asia, other than a Japanese model, was the P-40 Curtis Hawk (Flying Tigers), not a great plane but it kept China from falling]]. We had to use Trains & Trucks to move parts from factory to factory. It took factories to build trains & trucks also, and they had to burn fuel (all this putting carbon in the atmosphere, etc). All those planes, & jeeps, & tanks, & ships etc also burned fuel etc., etc., etc. Not to mention when ours, or the other side’s material got destroyed & released carbon.
Our Industry saved the world on several occasions (also, we have established MANY Democracies around the world,….. how many has Russia or China established !!!). So when people talk about this situation as if we are the only beneficiaries, of such Industrialization, they should look at history again, more objectively. If not for us, much of the world could today be under Japanese Imperialism, or Nazism, or USSR domination………’Comprende’.
The rest of the world has ‘As Much a Responsibility’ to solve this problem as we do,
So, THEY SHOULD STOP BALKING, and cut the EXCUSES.
Da Truth | December 16th, 2008