obama administration

News outlets reported this morning that President Obama will name Sally Jewell, CEO of the outdoor company REI, as his next Secretary of the Interior. The Department of the Interior is the agency responsible for the management of 1.7 billions acres of public lands. It oversees areas like national parks and national seashores, in addition to a significant amount of fossil and renewable energy development like solar energy and offshore wind.[read more]

There is a hallowed tradition in Washington known as the "Friday Document Dump," in which news and announcements the government wishes to bury are strategically timed for Friday afternoons. The Obama Administration's Blue Ribbon Panel response, released on Friday, seem to "lay out the next set of milestones for the nation's spent fuel management program to miss." What a disappointment.[read more]

In the first serious indication Obama will focus on climate change in his second term, media outlets report the President will nominate Senator John Kerry (D-MA) to be Secretary of State.Kerry is one of the Senate’s leading climate hawks who has said he believes that climate change is the “biggest long term threat” to national security....[read more]

The new Obama Administration 2025 fuel economy standards will increase fleet-wide average efficiency to 54.5 mpg and new vehicle purchasers’ will save $8,200. In addition, consumers will save $1.7 trillion and 12 billion barrels of oil, and eliminate 6 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide over the new program life. Compared to past Federal CAFE regulations these latest standards could truly be historic, if the promised benefits are real.[read more]

The White House finds itself in the role of supporting a Republican for reappointment to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory CommissionThe pretzel politics of life in Washington took on new twists this month. The White House nominated sitting NRC Commissioner Kristine Svinicki for another term over the objections of Senate Majority Leader Harry...[read more]

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Takeaways from White House energy and climate adviser Heather Zichal’s appearance at Monday’s hydraulic fracturing workshop in Washington, D.C., hosted by API:Outreach – The oil and natural gas industry agrees with the Zichal and the administration that constructive dialog on energy issues is, well, constructive. Zichal:“I give [API...[read more]

The Obama administration's controversial decision to zero-fund (and effectively cancel) the Yucca Mountain spent fuel repository - in violation of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act - was generally regarded as a decision which would only be reversed by a subsequent administration. (One can argue about whether the 1987 amendment to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act mandating Yucca mountain was a good or fair idea, but it still is the law, bad law as it may be.)[read more]

Facing environmental suits and court-imposed obligations, the Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to issue new rules to regulate climate destabilizing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from power plants and oil refineries, setting the Obama Administration up for a tough balancing act.“We are following through on our commitment to...[read more]

Common sense prevails until he broadly endorses MIT’s nuclear study John Holdren, President Obama’s Science Advisor, returned to MIT, his alma mater (‘65), Oct 27 to deliver a signature speech (slides) on energy R&D, climate change, and energy policy. (Hat tip to Ken Berard at NEI for the slides) If you want to know what energy...[read more]

The Obama administration has announced plans to install solar panels on the White House. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and Council of Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley made the announcement this morning during a federally-sponsored GreenGov Symposium at George Washington University.[read more]

Our guest blogger (via WR) is Frank O’Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch. Yesterday, the Obama administration proposed a sweeping plan to reduce power plant emissions that cross state lines and kill tens of thousands of Americans every year. The proposed Clean Air Transport Rule replaces the Bush administration’s so-called “clean...[read more]

photo: Sonoma County In Thursday’s New York Times, I write about how government-chartered mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are derailing an innovative program called Property Assessed Clean Energy. PACE programs finance the installation of solar panels and energy efficiency upgrades and let homeowners repay the loans through a...[read more]

For five weeks now, we have watched the Deepwater Horizon disaster spew oil and toxic dispersants into the Gulf of Mexico. This isn’t a simple spill on surface water. It is an ongoing, deepwater catastrophe occurring in one of the most productive marine environments in the world. Yet the Obama Administration’s response hasn’t matched...[read more]

White House senior advisor David Axelrod has not been viewed as a friend to climate legislation by enviros. Indeed, I’ve been told by multiple sources he is one of the reasons why high-level administration figures so rarely talk about the threat of global warming.  Sadly, he is among those who have been duped by bad polling...[read more]

I am pleased the Obama Administration has announced that two experienced and fair-minded figures will head up his independent commission to investigate the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster. On May 4, we sent a letter to the President urging him to take launch an investigation, and I appreciate that he has responded. Former Senator Bob...[read more]