The week that was had no shortage of big stories in the world of environmental politics…
Is anyone here a marine biologist? Towards the end of the week Barack Obama rounded out his cabinet picks by selecting Oregon State marine biologist Jane Lubchenko to head up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA oversees much of the climate change related research in the U.S. (Red, Green, and Blue)
As part of an economic stimulus package, Congress began considering expanding tax benefits for clean energy. “The [cleantech] sector was like a confirmed bachelor who after all these years was finally walking down the aisle with a smile on his face. Now, he’s been stopped five feet short of the altar because of the credit crisis,” said Fred Copeman, the national director of Ernst & Young’s tax credit advisory services. (CNN Money)
The first offshore wind farm in the U.S. hit another regulatory snag as Minnesota Rep. Jim Oberstar wrote a letter to the Coast Guard demanding they open their marine radar impacts study up to public comment. (Red, Green, and Blue)
Australian environmentalists were outraged by the relatively weak position the Rudd government took on reducing carbon emissions. After campaigning for a 25 percent reduction by 2020, Aussie enviros were disappointed that the government’s plan was only calling for a 15 percent reduction by 2020. (Envirowonk)
Barack Obama’s selection of U.S. Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO) as Interior Secretary kicked off a firestorm of reactions from the environmental community regarding Salazar’s fitness to lead the department charged with overseeing millions of acres in public lands and the mineral and grazing leasing programs involved in their use. Although immediately characterized as a choice environmentalists were fuming over, it soon became clear that many enviros and conservationists were pleased with the Salazar pick. (Red, Green, and Blue)
The luck o’ the Irish with renewable energy is about to change as government officials announced they would increase their target for renewable energy generation to 40 percent by 2020. This is 20 percent above the already aggressive EU renewables target. (forceChange)
Just when you thought the bloodletting was over, EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson wrote a memo to all federal agencies ordering that they ignore carbon dioxide emissions in any permitting process. The memo flies in direct opposition to a Supreme Court decision that said CO2 must be regulated as a pollutant. According to one estimate, the memo could clear the way for some 8,000MW in new coal-fired power plants. (Red, Green, and Blue)
About Timothy B. Hurst
