OBAMA'S "GREEN TEAM"

As Inauguration Day approaches many questions arise in the minds of the American people regarding the political views of new presidential appointees and what effects they may have on policy making over the next four years.  With volatile energy prices and the current state of the economy, President-elect Obama's choices for appointments closely involved with the issues of energy and the environment are of particular concern to many. 

To help answer these questions, we've compiled a list of the President-elect's so-called "Green Team" and a few others that will be directly involved with these issues, with links to articles providing information on their prospective backgrounds and political agendas.

For one-stop information on the new administration, visit the President-elect's website at http://www.change.gov/ and the Obama-Biden website at http://www.barackobama.com/.  These sites offer a variety of information including updates on the presidential transition and the new administration's stand on various issues such as the Obama-Biden New Energy for America plan.

Key members of the Energy and Environment Team, listed below, were announced on December 15^th.  To view President-elect Obama's press release, visit: http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/president_elect_barack_obama_announces_key_members_of_energy_and_environmen/

Dr. Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy

http://www.lbl.gov/Publications/Director/

http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/obama/2008/12/16/as-obamas-energy-chief-steven-chu-likely-to-shift-agencys-focus-to-renewables.html

Lisa Jackson, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator

http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/obama/2008/12/16/choosing-lisa-jackson-to-head-epa-obama-goes-with-veteran-regulator.html

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/j/lisa_p_jackson/index.html

Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality

http://www.reuters.com/article/vcCandidateFeed2/idUSTRE4B94JA20081210

Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change

http://www.epa.gov/history/admin/agency/browner.htm

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/carol_m_browner/index.html

Heather Zichal, Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change

See biography in press release (link above.)

Other appointments expected to play integral roles on the issues of energy and climate change include the Secretary of the Interior, announced December 17^th, and certain members of the Science and Technology Team, announced December 20^th.  These and other press releases can be viewed at: http://change.gov/newsroom/press/

Senator Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/ken_salazar/index.html

Dr. John Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; Co-Chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST)

http://www.hks.harvard.edu/about/faculty-staff-directory/john-holdren

http://www.climatesciencewatch.org/index.php/csw/details/holdren-aaas1/

Dr. Jane Lubchenco, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator

http://lucile.science.oregonstate.edu/lubchenco/

http://rncnyc2004.blogspot.com/2008/12/dr-jane-lubchenco-biography.html

We would be remiss not to mention the President-elect's two other appointments for Co-Chair of PCAST, who are both very accomplished, award-winning scientists, Dr. Eric Lander and Dr. Harold Varmus.  Brief biographies for these men and all appointees for the new administration are included in their respective press releases (http://change.gov/newsroom/press/.)