So What The Hell Was That All About?

Last week, David Hayes was refused confirmation to the position of Deputy Interior Secretary, a job he held in the last Clinton Administration, because Bob Bennett (R-UT) might face a primary and wanted to look tough. A week later, Hayes was confirmed by voice vote. I guess the difference was that Hayes promised to "review" the cancellation of oil and gas leases in Utah that got Bennett all flustered.

Man, these Republicans are whiny ass titty babies.

The Renewable Electric Agenda

The President clearly has an electrification strategy as part of his agenda to transform our energy policy. At the last minute he snuck $8 billion dollars for high speed rail into the stimulus package. And while he showed tough love toward the carmakers by denying them bailout money, he (and I'm assuming that he is speaking through the newly installed GM chairman) exempted the plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt from the otherwise stringent requirements of other vehicles in the fleet:

Rick Wagoner's replacement as GM CEO, Fritz Henderson, might have recently said that all of GM's car models will need to "pay the rent" (unlike the previous business model, which was to make huge margins on ginormous SUVs and trucks, and to build unprofitable small cars as an afterthought), but there was some fine print on that claim. This new rule won't apply to the GM Volt plug-in hybrid car, and that's probably a good thing.

GM needs some long-term vision. It put all its eggs into big SUVs, and now changing direction will take much effort (as is pretty obvious from recent headlines). I can't imagine how much inertia had to be fought to even get the Volt project started after the demise of the EV1.

In other words, with such a heavy lift to actually get the Volt to market, we cannot abandon this first forward-thinking effort by American car manufacturers in decades. And there's no question in my mind that Obama's behind that. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see whatever reconstructed GM coming out of any potential bankruptcy process have the Volt as its flagship vehicle, perhaps even with some backing (and I'd like to see the same for Tesla).

A broad shift to electric, as opposed to flex fuels and ethanol, makes lots of sense, because renewables can be rapidly scaled up to accommodate major carbon reductions in ways that alternative fuels can never reach. A new study shows that offshore wind turbines could meet current electricity demand TODAY.

Reporting from Arlington, Va. -- Wind turbines off U.S. coastlines could potentially supply more than enough electricity to meet the nation's current demand, the Interior Department reported Thursday.

Simply harnessing the wind in relatively shallow waters -- the most accessible and technically feasible sites for offshore turbines -- could produce at least 20% of the power demand for most coastal states, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said, unveiling a report by the Minerals Management Service that details the potential for oil, gas and renewable development on the outer continental shelf.

The biggest wind potential lies off the nation's Atlantic coast, which the Interior report estimates could produce 1,000 gigawatts of electricity -- enough to meet a quarter of the national demand.

We don't have to wonder about a world without coal - we have that ability now. The only resource that needs to be tapped is political will.

Forgive Me My "Change We Can Believe In" Gush

I think I've been critical of the Obama Administration where necessary, but on many fronts, they are pleasantly surprising, in particular with cabinet appointments I thought were middling at best. For example, Ken Salazar, who was pretty milquetoast as a Colorado Senator, is burning down the Interior Department, figuratively speaking, as its Secretary.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Tuesday that he was reconsidering a series of controversial energy and environmental decisions handed down in the waning days of the Bush administration, including a move to open federal land near national parks to oil and natural gas drilling.

Opening parts of the Mountain West to oil shale development -- a sensitive issue because of the huge quantities of water required to extract oil from the rock -- will also be reviewed, he said in his first formal news interview since wining Senate confirmation last week.

"I'm very concerned about a number of the midnight actions that were taken by the Bush administration," Salazar said. "We barely have moved in, but we already know enough to know there are many issues we need to revisit." [...]

He stressed the importance of science in agency decision-making, particularly in regard to endangered species. Late last year, the Bush administration said federal agencies would not be compelled to consult biologists about whether government projects such as new roads or dams would harm endangered wildlife or plants.

Salazar said he would reconsider that rule and would work to enhance Endangered Species Act protections for streams and habitat. "At the end of the day, it should be the scientific foundation that drives the decisions," he said.

Calling climate change "one of the signature issues of our time," he also said he was revisiting a Bush administration decision to exclude global warming considerations when acting to protect endangered species such as the polar bear, which is declining in part because of the shrinking polar ice.

In particular the oil shale development is intriguing, because Salazar didn't seem much opposed to that in the Senate. He also outlined stringent ethics standards, which makes sense considering that the Minerals Management Service was a hooker and blow ring, for all intents and purposes, during the Bush regime.

Over at the USDA, Tom Vilsack, who was looked at warily by food policy reformers, is getting decent marks for his work in the first week.

I liked the title of this article without even reading it: Vilsack Reverses Bush Administration Actions. First, he reinstated $3 million in funding for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (a program promoting fruits and vegetables) that the Bushies had cut. Second, he extended a comment period on a rule limiting crop subsidy payments by 60 days. (The specific name of the rule is 2008 Farm Bill Farm Program Payment Limitation and Payment Eligibility).

More goodies could be found in a USDA press release. That said Vilsack stated priorities as including:

* Combatting childhood obesity and promoting health and nutrition
* R&D for biofuels, wind, and other renewable energy
* The environment: Making progress on major environmental challenges, including climate change. Vilsack said it's important that farmers and ranchers play a role with USDA in efforts to promote incentives for management practices that provide clean air, clean water, and wildlife habitat, and help farmers participate in markets that reward them for sequestering carbon and limiting greenhouse gas emissions.
* Providing a safety net to farmers and ranchers - "including independent producers and local and organic agriculture."
* Enforcing the Packers and Stockyards Act!!!!!
* Quickly implementing the 2008 Farm Bill
* "Modernizing the food safety system"
* Food aid overseas
* The Forest Service: Restoring the mission of the Forest Service as a protector of clean air, clean water, and wildlife habitat; a provider of recreation opportunities; a key player in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration.

If he can win over the reformers, he's got my blessing.

Finally, I don't have anything on HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan yet, but the Federal Reserve is promising to write down bad mortgages to limit foreclosures.

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday took a step toward easing mortgage foreclosures threatening millions of Americans, announcing that it would write down troubled mortgages to keep people in their homes.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the initiative would specifically include $74 billion of assets held in connection with the bailout last year of Bear Stearns and American International Group.

"The goal of the policy is to avoid preventable foreclosures on residential mortgage assets that are held, owned or controlled by a Federal Reserve Bank," he said in a letter to Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House of Representatives financial services committee.

Combine that with the assurances on foreclosure work-outs in TARP II and cram-down making its way through a House panel and there are legitimate efforts to keep people in their homes, which is quite a change.

OK, back to being crabby now that I got that out... :)

Drilled Baby Drilled

You know, the people who said that President Obama said what he had to say during the campaign, feinting to the center and then moving left once in power, is massing a good amount of evidence.

U.S. President Barack Obama may order a hold on a proposal issued in the final days of the Bush administration to expand offshore drilling in previously banned areas, an Interior Department official told Reuters on Wednesday.

Shortly after being sworn in on Tuesday, Obama ordered all federal agencies and departments to halt pending regulations until they can be reviewed by incoming staff.

An Interior official said the department is waiting for clarification from the White House on whether a proposed draft of a five-year plan to lease areas in the Atlantic and Pacific waters for oil and natural gas drilling can go forward.

I think Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar has argued against oil shale exploration in the interior West in the past.

Now, Obama may not be able politically to reinstate the ban, but he could functionally reinstate it through denying expansion proposals. And considering that miniscule amount of oil available in the US, this won't affect supply and is not worth destroying environmental balance in the process.

The Energy Team

We knew who were on President-elect Obama's energy and environment team, but he officially announced them yesterday. It's an impressive group.

CHICAGO – Today, President-elect Barack Obama announced key members of his energy and environment team, including Dr. Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy; Lisa Jackson, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator; Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ); Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change; and Heather Zichal, Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change.

Nancy Sutley is a deputy mayor here in Los Angeles and the first openly gay member of the Administration. Dr. Chu is a Nobel Prize winner and a physicist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. Browner was a longtime EPA Administrator in the Clinton White House. Jackson was environmental secretary and chief of staff to New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine. They are all people who believe global warming exists, who believe we must do all we can to mitigate it and protect the planet, and who view the energy challenge as key to our economic growth.

Which is why I think this New York Times story is so off the mark. It's not that the recession precludes progress on energy; it DEMANDS that progress. Creating a green energy future and promoting efficiency has the potential to create millions of jobs that can't be outsourced. Government must spend to bring the economy into recovery, and there are literally thousands of green projects, from weatherizing homes to building a smart energy grid to high speed rail, that fit the bill. The energy and environmental agenda and the economic agenda are inextricably linked.

One final member of the energy team was chosen yesterday. Sen. Ken Salazar will become the Secretary of the Interior. I don't think he'll do much harm in that position, though he was an annoying moderate squish of a Senator. If Colorado Governor Bill Ritter chooses wisely, this could move the Senate appreciably to the left. Salazar will have plenty of work to do rooting out politicization in the department that led to the squashing of sound science.

On this everyone is united. As Obama said yesterday, "My administration will value science. We will make decisions based on facts, and we understand that the facts demand bold action."

So Much To Fix

I've got a good first task for Henry Waxman in his new perch at the House Energy and Commerce Committee; deal with the lawlessness at the EPA. First they have steadfastly refused to regulate global warming pollution despite a Supreme Court order to do so. More recently, they are set hazardous new air quality rules:

The Environmental Protection Agency is finalizing new air-quality rules that would make it easier to build coal-fired power plants, oil refineries and other major polluters near national parks and wilderness areas, even though half of the EPA's 10 regional administrators formally dissented from the decision and four others criticized the move in writing [...]

The proposal would change the practice of measuring pollution levels near national parks, which is currently done over three-hour and 24-hour increments to capture emission spikes during periods of peak energy demand; instead, the levels would be averaged over a year. Under this system, spikes in pollution would no longer violate the law.

While Waxman is at it, he can reform the Department of the Interior, which is trying to gut the Endangered Species Act:

The Bush administration is "close" to finalizing a regulatory overhaul of the Endangered Species Act to allow federal agencies to decide whether protected species would be harmed by agency projects, according to the Interior Department [...]

For more than 30 years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service have reviewed any federal plans that could potentially protect endangered animals or plants. Under the administration's proposed rule, these independent scientific reviews would no longer be required if the agency in question determined that its activities would not hurt the imperiled species.

I know that the out-of-control federal agencies are going to be Barack Obama's purview, but Waxman can fix up some legislation to deal with this crap, particularly on the EPA issues (Interior may be a separate jurisdiction).

He's going to be busy.

Best Little Whorehouse In Denver

Charlie Savage advances the ball on this story of debauchery at the Minerals Management Service in the Department of the Interior. If we weren't talking about billions of wasted dollars it'd actually be funny.

As Congress prepares to debate expansion of drilling in taxpayer-owned coastal waters, the Interior Department agency that collects oil and gas royalties has been caught up in a wide-ranging ethics scandal — including allegations of financial self-dealing, accepting gifts from energy companies, cocaine use and sexual misconduct [...]

The investigations are the latest installment in a series of scathing inquiries into the program’s management and competence in recent years. While previous reports have focused on problems the agency had in collecting millions of dollars owed to the Treasury, and hinted at personal misconduct, the new reports go far beyond any previous study in revealing serious concerns with the integrity and behavior of the agency’s officials.

In one of the new reports, investigators concluded that Ms. Denett worked with two aides to steer a lucrative consulting contract to one of the aides after he retired, violating competitive procurement rules.

Two other reports focus on “a culture of substance abuse and promiscuity” in the service’s royalty-in-kind program. That part of the agency collects about $4 billion a year in oil and gas rather than cash royalties.

It's really an eye-opening report. The graft here is widespread, and these aren't rinky-dink companies engaging in this - Chevron and Shell are implicated.

Showing that impeccable timing that always seems to characterize Congressional Democrats, they today released their offshore drilling plan, which is tone deaf in so many ways:

• The price of oil has dropped 30% from its height, and the price of gas nearly 20%, without one drop of new oil being drilled, entirely due to lower demand and increasing transit ridership. Such conservation not only works, it works at a level that the pathetic amounts of coastal drilling never can.

• The federal agency that would be tasked with approving and managing all these new oil leases is having coke orgies with Big Oil.

Bill Nelson, at least, has stepped up and said that there should be no new drilling as a cause of this.

But of course, such a maneuver would mean that logic is taking over in the government.

There Is No Other Good Title For This But "Drill Baby Drill"

Really, I tried to come up with something different, but it's too perfect:

Government officials handling billions of dollars in oil royalties engaged in illicit sex with employees of energy companies they were dealing with and received numerous gifts from them, federal investigators said Wednesday.

The alleged transgressions involve 13 Interior Department employees in Denver and Washington. Their alleged improprieties include rigging contracts, working part-time as private oil consultants, and having sexual relationships with — and accepting golf and ski trips and dinners from — oil company employees, according to three reports released Wednesday by the Interior Department's inspector general.

In bed with Big Oil. Literally.

Meanwhile OPEC's going to cut supply, making a total mockery out of any of these "drill now" efforts, because no amount of spigot opening on our coasts could have as much of an impact as one nod of the head from the Saudis. We have to get off oil. But with Republicans in the White House, we won't, because the GOP and Big Oil are fucking each other. Actually fucking each other.

Please go back to talking about lipstick now.

Best Lede Evah

Ya gotta love this.

The Interior Department's inspector general found no political interference by Vice President Cheney on a key environmental policy in part because investigators were not looking for it, an Interior official told lawmakers yesterday.

We found NOTHING where we weren't looking!

(By the way, this is about the Klamath River fishkill in 2002, which the Washington Post's Fourthbranch series revealed WAS politically manipulated by the Vice President. But the IG of Interior wasn't looking for it, so everything's cool.)