transition talk

Obama’s labor pick talks green jobs

Here’s Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Calif.), Obama’s pick to head the Department of Labor, talking about green jobs:

Obama taps marine ecologist Jane Lubchenco to head NOAA

Obama has selected Oregon State University marine scientist Jane Lubchenco to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Reports The Washington Post: Lubchenco, a conservationist who has devoted much of her career to encouraging scientists to become more engaged in public policy debates, is also a vocal proponent of curbing greenhouse gases linked to global […]

Enviros and urban planners puzzled by Obama’s transportation pick

Ray LaHood.Wednesday’s surprise pick of Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.) to head the Department of Transportation caught greenies and urban-planning types off guard. Though they’re not condemning the pick, they are emphasizing that transit will be a major challenge and that the next secretary needs to be up to the task. LaHood has served on the […]

Vilsack’s appointment is representative of the narrow range of viewpoints in Obama’s Cabinet

Tom Vilsack is going to be secretary of agriculture, hmmm … Let’s see, ethanol proponent, enthusiastic supporter of GMOs and biotechnologies, and political debtor to agribusiness. Yup, it seems clear that Obama really took Michael Pollan’s "Farmer in Chief" piece to heart. Short of actually appointing, say, Monsanto’s chairman, it is hard to imagine a […]

Hilda Solis chosen to head Labor Department

Wow! This is amazing news. Solis has been one of the House’s leading champions of green jobs and environmental justice. She was the sponsor of the Green Jobs Bill. More on this soon, but … wo0t!

Vilsack on organic ag and ethanol

If you’re digging around on Tom Vilsack, Obama’s nominee to head USDA, you might want to check out a couple of interviews, both done during his (brief) presidential campaign this year. The short assessment is: He seems committed on climate change and energy security, and committed on vastly ramping up ethanol, and utterly unaware of […]

Not-so-deep thought

Between Salazar, Vilsack, LaHood, and Warren, Obama really peed in the ol’ cornflakes today.

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 […]