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Chu on the enemy of the human race

“Coal is my worst nightmare.” — Steven Chu, Obama’s nominee for energy secretary, a Nobel laureate, and director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, in a speech earlier this year on his lab’s renewable energy projects

New fact sheet greenwashes Bushes record on energy and climate

OK, my headline may have selectively edited the White House’s newly released energy/climate legacy talking points. But I didn’t do anything more than the White House itself did in its unintentionally humorous fact sheet that asserts, “President Bush Has Strengthened America’s Energy Security And Taken Constructive Steps To Confront Climate Change.” I suppose the “fact […]

Memo to Prius owners: Get the extended warranty

I do not give financial advice. Even if you accept the analysis here on peak oil, global warming, and clean tech, that is insufficient information on which to base investment decisions — as the financial meltdown of the last few months should make clear. But I do think the Prius is easily the best hybrid […]

Thoughts on Obama’s USDA pick

"Tom understands that the solution to our energy crisis will be found not in oil fields abroad but in our farm fields here at home," Barack Obama declared Wednesday, hailing his pick for USDA chief, former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack. "That’s the kind of leader I want in my Cabinet." Great. Rather than an advocate […]

You haven’t heard the last of me, you meddling kids!

“What they don’t know is, I’m going to go back and kick their ass.” — Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), on his plan for revenge against his colleagues on the Natural Resources Committee, who just forced him out with the threat of a no-confidence vote

Hadley Center and WMO say 2000s comprise hottest decade in recorded history

Last week, I pointed out that the climate story of the decade is that the 2000s are on track to be nearly 0.2°C warmer than the 1990s. The World Meteorological Organization reported today that because humans are altering the climate with greenhouse gas emissions: The ten warmest years on record have occurred since 1997. Global […]

Green groups divided over choice of Salazar to head Interior

Ken Salazar. Ken Salazar, Obama’s choice to head the Department of the Interior, is provoking controversy in the environmental community. Many activists, particularly among grassroots conservation groups in the West, are criticizing the pick, while some industry interests and big, mainstream green groups are praising Salazar. The opponents have been the most outspoken so far. […]

Umbra on homegrown meat

Dear Umbra, I try to eat as many vegetarian meals as possible, but I haven’t “gone all the way” yet, mostly because my in-laws (whom my husband and I live with at the moment) raise beef, chickens, and hunt deer; and my husband and I end up with a lot of free, locally produced meat. […]

The infrastructure tightrope Obama will have to walk

As I noted the other day, there’s something of a tension between the infrastructure investments that can be circulated into the economy quickly and those that are green — particularly when it comes to public transit. A Washington Post piece on Sunday addressed the issue: Most of the infrastructure spending being proposed for the massive […]

Obama officially announces Vilsack for USDA and Salazar for Interior

At a press conference Wednesday morning, Barack Obama officially announced that he will nominate former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack (D) to be secretary of agriculture and Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar (D) to be secretary of the interior, calling them “as accomplished a pair of public servants as we have in America.” “Together, they will serve […]