Obama's new team

[SkywlkrSnd]

Barack Obama has made his selections for the environmental positions in his Cabinet. In case you missed the recent headlines, here's the rundown:



Secretary of the Interior: Ken Salazar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Salazar)
Secretary of Agriculture: Tom Vilsack (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Vilsack)
Secretary of Energy: Stephen Chu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Chu)
EPA Administrator: Lisa Jackson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_P._Jackson)
Science Adviser: John Holdren (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_P._Holdren)
NOAA Administrator: Jane Lubchenco (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Lubchenco)

The response to these picks seems to be overwhelmingly favorable from environmental groups. What do you guys think?

I'm particularly excited to see someone like Dr. Chu, a Nobel Prize-winning, lifelong scientist, as Secr. of Energy. Maybe now the scientific community won't be relegated to the back burner of the decision making process when it comes to energy and the environment. For too long, the voices of the people who know the most about what is going on in (and with) our world, have been largely ignored or silenced in governmental circles, in favor of populist political posturing. Hopefully those days are over and some real work can get done.

[maxkone]

I agree. It's about time some key players got into Washington to allow REAL science to be a guide to decision and policy-making, for once. He's really assembling a killer team here.

Also, don't forget Dr. John P. Holdron (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_P._Holdren) (Wikipedia link) as Science Adviser. Good article on his appointment here (http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/18/a-strong-voice-on-co2-as-science-adviser/) at the NY Times.

[SkywlkrSnd]

Also, don't forget Dr. John P. Holdron (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_P._Holdren) (Wikipedia link) as Science Adviser. Good article on his appointment here (http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/18/a-strong-voice-on-co2-as-science-adviser/) at the NY Times.

Thanks for the update, Max! Dr. Holdron is another stellar addition. I will update my initial post (and thanks for providing the Wiki-link).

[PETER.PHIL]

Hum, lets see. If I remember right when Clinton was president we had 0 deficit, jobs, and we could afford to buy groceries! So a blast from that past would be a good thing.