Barack Obama

The president-elect on greening the auto industry

Since President-elect Barack Obama is talking about economic support for the flailing auto-industry, here’s a flashback (via Ezra Klein) to nearly three years ago, when he was merely Sen. Obama: Already, hundreds of fueling stations use a blend of ethanol and gasoline known as E85, and there are millions of cars on the road with […]

Obama on Grist

Just for kicks, I went and searched for the very first mention of Obama’s name on Grist. It came on 27 July 2004, the day of Obama’s fateful speech to the Democratic National Convention, in a dispatch from Mary Sullivan, a delegate. This is what she said: Most inspiring was Barack Obama, 2004 Democratic candidate […]

Obama’s inner circle

This isn’t really eco-related, but it strikes me as an amazing historical artifact so I’m sharing it. This is an interview with Obama’s close circle of advisers, conducted less than two hours after the election results were announced, 04 Nov 2008: Their obvious affection, for one another and for their candidate, is astonishing to anyone […]

The Obama administration’s coal-related appointments: worth watching

Nobody reports on coal and Appalachia better than Ken Ward Jr. down at the Charleston Gazette. He’s got a good article up on what the coal industry should expect from an Obama administration, namely that he will "reverse Bush administration rule changes, beef up enforcement, and put the nation’s first ever limits on carbon dioxide […]

Al Gore discusses energy and Obama

Here’s a Current video interview with Al Gore, with questions selected via Digg, in which he discusses — among other things — “clean coal,” Obama’s energy plan, and whether he’d accept top slot at EPA: (thanks LL!)

Nick Kristoff praises Obama’s ability to ‘exult in complexity’

Nicholas Kristof’s terrific Sunday NYT column, “Obama and the war on brains,” opens: Barack Obama’s election is a milestone in more than his pigmentation. The second most remarkable thing about his election is that American voters have just picked a president who is an open, out-of-the-closet, practicing intellectual. Maybe, just maybe, the result will be […]

Obama brings California dreaming

“Now we’ll get our phone calls returned.” — Sen. Dianne Feinstein, on what effect an Obama presidency would have on California, possibly including approval of the state’s tailpipe standards and big green energy investments that would boost Silicon Valley

Chorus of intellectuals and activists call on Obama to think big

Nobel-winning economist Paul Krugman to Barack Obama: be ambitious (really ambitious)! Beltway CW bellwether Fareed Zakaria to Barack Obama: be ambitious! Former Secretary of Labor and current Obama adviser Robert Reich to Barack Obama: be ambitious! Nobel-winning climate advocate Al Gore to Barack Obama: be ambitious! Nobel-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz to Barack Obama: be ambitious! […]

Why polluter lobbyists are rallying to protect ‘Tailpipe Johnny’

While the Obama transition team starts assembling the pieces of his administration, one of D.C.’s most intriguing subplots is unfolding: the contest between Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and John Dingell (D-Mich.) for chairmanship of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees clean air, global warming, and other critical environmental legislation. Last week the […]