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The energy and climate challenge for Obama

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this day.

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The excitement here in D.C. is palpable. We have friends in town who brought their five-year-old and are walking down to the National Mall. My wife got an invitation to watch the whole thing from an office that overlooks the Capitol.

I'm an indoor type (Duh!) -- especially on a cold day with a wind chill that could only warm the hearts of anti-scientific global warming deniers. And someone needs to stay home with my 21-month-old daughter and blog.

She is so excited. She keeps saying "Where is Barack Obama?" and "Is Joe Biden here?" (Note: If you ask her who ran against Barack Obama, she'll answer "Grumpy old man." Go figure!)

So what is the great challenge for Obama?

Global warming, obviously, but what does he need to do?

Yes, he needs to pass a major climate bill and accelerate the deployment of cleantech. But those are really secondary challenges.

No, the single most important thing he needs to do is to change the political equation in this country.

Efficiency in the Obama economic revitalization plan

The long green? That's money -- and you all know what "going green" is about ...

Everyone keeps asking the members of President Barack Obama's energy and environment team if the U.S. can "afford" their agenda in light of the economic condition of the nation. (Witness the Washington Post interview with Carol Browner as one example.)

Silly question ... and they get simplistic answers, such as "we will." It's a silly question because it assumes a conflict that isn't there, as do the typical mainstream surveys of public opinion. The New York Times reports on Jan. 18:

Given a choice between stimulating the economy and protecting the environment, 58 percent of Americans said it was more important to stimulate the economy, compared with 33 percent who chose protecting the environment. In April 2007, 36 percent said it was more important to stimulate the economy, compared with 52 percent who chose the environment.

That's a false, unnecessary choice; and simply posing the proposition may generate opposition to the most rational course of action, which is not making the choice.

The way out lies through applying a little concept in economics that many in the environmental community have tended to abhor, at least until attention became focused on energy consumption: efficiency.

Pursuit of efficiency came to be associated with exploitation of workers, despoliation of landscapes and environments, abandonment of community roots and commitments, and many abusive actions of companies large and small in the 20th century.

But most climate change agendas today start with the pursuit of what everyone seems to agree is the low-hanging fruit of efforts to lower emissions: energy efficiency. Many who challenged the necessity of efficiency in the past are now trying to increase it today and into the future.

What gives?

Will Congress get a whiff and vote to clean up dirty diesel engines?

The Washington Post has an interesting note about the armada of diesel buses that have rolled into the nation's capital for the Obama inauguration -- and the need to clean them up.

The opportunity for the "policy change" described in the piece could be at hand as soon as the day after the inauguration, Wednesday, Jan. 21, when the House Appropriations Committee takes up the economic recovery bill. The committee already recognized the desire to include the cleanup of existing diesel engines as part of the stimulus bill. See the bottom of page 4 of the House plan [PDF], which includes $300 million for a diesel green jobs program.

Remember this?

Energy and environment front and center on White House website

The White House website made an apparently smooth transition from George W. Bush to Barack Obama today, and energy and environment get a starring role on the new administration's homepage.

There's nothing really new here; the details of the new president's environment and energy agenda were announced long ago. But it's good to see these issues taking center stage on day one of the Obama administration. Lest anyone doubt the significance of the change, Obama's agenda declares: "The energy challenges our country faces are severe and have gone unaddressed for far too long. Our addiction to foreign oil doesn't just undermine our national security and wreak havoc on our environment -- it cripples our economy and strains the budgets of working families all across America. President Obama and Vice President Biden have a comprehensive plan to invest in alternative and renewable energy, end our addiction to foreign oil, address the global climate crisis and create millions of new jobs."

Also included is the White House's intent to "Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050" and "Make the U.S. a Leader on Climate Change."

Finally, it appears blogging has finally made its way to 1600 Pennsylvania. The White House site now includes: www.whitehouse.gov/blog.

Obama references energy, climate challenges in inaugural address

President Barack Obama made a few points in his inaugural address that should bring smiles to the faces of environmental advocates.

Noting the goals he hopes to help achieve, Obama said: "We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories."

Later, he made a quick reference to climate change: "With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet."

In discussing international relations, he said: "To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow ... And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect."

Full text of the speech after the jump.

All eyes on ag chief Vilsack's undersecretary pick

There have been whispers recently from Washington, D.C., that indicate that the wheels of change are grinding to a halt even before the Inauguration of our next President takes place.

The recent nomination of former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack as Secretary of Ag was a disappointment to many in the sustainable ag and family farm community because of Vilsack's close relationship with agribusiness and his penchant for promoting biotech and corn-based ethanol. Despite some positive comments during his confirmation hearing regarding nutrition, local foods and climate change, many in the sustainable ag community remain skeptical, while some remain hopeful.

I've written previously, as have others, to place Tom's record in context; that he was the first Democratic governor of Iowa in 40 years and that during his governorship he had to contend with a Republican House and Senate.

This will not be the case when he heads the USDA with solid majorities in Congress, a call for "change in America" and support from the White House. There will be no one to blame for failing to put forward a progressive agenda for America's food and farm future.

Grist looks back at the WTF moments of the George W. Bush years

The Bush administration was hostile to government regulation and protective of business interests. That was their stated ideology on the campaign trail, and when elected, the president saw to it that his government acted on it. Fine. We get it. But the Bush environmental record is not entirely explicable through ideology. Some of the stuff […]

Inaugural opening ceremony/concert

Kate and I attended the opening ceremonies for Barack Obama's inauguration last night -- perched up in the press section right next to the stage, with a great view of, among other things, the first family.

You can read all about the event on numerous other sites. As you would expect, it was a spectacle, and like so much else in the Obama campaign, it treaded the razor's edge between absurd and inspiring.

There was little specifically green in it, aside from Jack Black (!?) reading inspirational quotes from Theodore Roosevelt about national parks. It was difficult to take too seriously, though, because Jack Black is funny even when he's not trying to be. (So was Steven Carell.)

There are a few memories that I'll take with me, though:

Green groups and Obama's Energy Sec. mark National Day of Service

Groups around Washington, D.C., marked Martin Luther King Jr. Day and inauguration eve with a national day of service. One service effort was the kick-off to the installation of solar panels at Sousa Junior High School in the southeastern part of the city.

The efforts were led by the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Standard Solar; SunPower, Wal-Mart Inc., Waste Management Inc.; and Washington Gas Energy Services, along with the city's government. They distributed home weatherization kits to families in the neighborhood as well.

Grist couldn't make it out for the event, but apparently incoming Secretary of Energy Steven Chu stopped by and spoke to volunteers: "What you're doing today is the single most important thing we can be doing in the coming decades - promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy," Chu said. "Years ago, communities came together to raise a neighbor's barn. In the future, I hope that communities will come together, like you are today, to weatherize each other's homes, to conserve energy, make homes more comfortable, save money, and save the planet."

The groups are installing $20,000 worth of solar panels and equipment, donated by Standard Solar, Washington Gas Energy Services, and SunPower. The installation is being completed by IBEW electricians at John Kelly & Sons Electrical Construction. The panels should be up and running in a few weeks, according to the groups.

"What we did today foreshadowed the incredible economic potential of President-elect Obama's plan to create hundreds of thousands of jobs by investing in clean, renewable energy," said LCV President Gene Karpinski at the event.