Barack Obama

NYT gets goofy on cap-and-trade

An NYT piece on Obama’s priorities manages to get two things wrong on energy policy, both in a short section written by John Broder. First, the overall point is wrong. Broder tries to draw a contrast between "an earlier proposal," Obama’s cap-and-trade program, and what Obama is "now emphasizing," big investments in renewables, energy efficiency, […]

… in my head

News that Obama and McCain are meeting today, along with Obama chief of staff-pick Rahm Emanuel and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), got me to thinking … what might that conversation be like? Obama: John, thanks for meeting with me today. McCain: My friend, it’s a real pleasure. Obama: I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve […]

The British love Obama too, and hope he’ll inspire climate action

First things first: We love Barack Obama here in Britain, maybe almost as much as you do. Possibly there are disappointed Republican sympathizers in the U.K., but I haven’t met any, and relief at the retreat of Sarah Palin as political force is almost palpable. Across much of Northern Europe we liked Obama so much […]

Obama’s enviro and energy teams heavy on vets of 42nd prez’s administration

Obama is tapping many Clintonites for his transition team. The Obama-Biden transition announced the names of the Agency Review Team leads, who will be charged with completing “a thorough review of key departments, agencies and commissions of the United States government, as well as the White House, to provide the President-elect, Vice President-elect, and key […]

Obama to Poland

Enviros outline what they’d like Obama to do

Shortly after the election, a coalition of more than 30 green groups issued a list of requests to the Obama transition team, outlining the priorities on climate and energy they’d like the next president to address. Their plans are largely consistent with what Obama campaigned on, and the groups are encouraging both the president-elect and […]

Obama’s energy and environment adviser on 2009

“Enjoy the holiday season … and rest up because it’s going to be a very, very busy 2009.” — Jason Grumet, environment and energy adviser to Barack Obama, speaking at a conference in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday

Obama’s pledge on the border wall

Barack Obama’s victory is good news for reversing one of the great environmental and humanitarian crimes of the Bush era: the U.S.-Mexico border wall. The wall, about 280 miles long, is a disaster for the wildlife, landscape, people, and economy of the American Southwest. It prevents highly endangered species like jaguars (U.S. population unknown), ocelots […]

Will Obama create a new energy council, as recommended by the Center for American Progress?

A year ago, the policy wonks at the Center for American Progress laid out a plan for what they’d like to see the next president do on a variety of issues, including energy and climate change [PDF]. The plan includes a proposal to create a National Energy Council, headed by a national energy adviser at […]