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We are going to have a huge economic stimulus package soon after Obama becomes President. And a big piece of it is going to be aimed at energy efficiency and renewable energy, as the NYT reported today in"Proposal Ties Economic Stimulus to Energy Plan." I have asked a bunch of my wonk ee friends for some energy efficiency ideas, which I'll be posting in the coming days. I'd love to hear some ideas from you - please try to keep them practical. Focus on spending that creates jobs in the next two years AND that either saves energy (like weatherizing low-income homes) or helps jumpstart the transition to a clean energy economy (like 'green' transmission).

President-elect Barack Obama will nominate Colorado Senator Ken Salazar as the next Secretary of the Department of the Interior, three anonymous Democratic sources have confirmed. The sources say that Salazar has been offered the job, one telling the Rocky Mountain News "It's a done deal." Salazar, a Democrat, is four years into his first term as U.S. Senator from Colorado and has been a vocal critic of the Bush administration's energy and environmental policies, especially those relating to oil and gas development in the American West. When current Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne announced the draft rule designed to accelerate oil shale development across the West, Salazar reacted strongly, saying:

President-elect Barack Obama has chosen Steven Chu, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist who heads the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, to be the next energy secretary, and he has picked veteran regulators from diverse backgrounds to fill three other key jobs on his environmental and climate-change team, Democratic sources said yesterday. Obama plans to name Carol M. Browner, Environmental Protection Agency administrator for eight years under President Bill Clinton, to fill a new White House post overseeing energy, environmental and climate policies, the sources said. Browner, a member of Obama's transition team, is a principal at the Albright Group.

The change promised by U.S. President-elect Barack Obama will extend to the Energy Department, where the next energy secretary is likely to focus more than ever on renewable and alternative energy sources and less on traditional fossil fuels like crude oil. Steven Chu, Obama's pick to be energy secretary, will play a major role in implementing the incoming president's plan to resuscitate the U.S. economy with millions of new green energy jobs that will cut America's polluting emissions and the country's addiction to foreign oil supplies.

Some are calling it a "smear job", while others are applauding the National Geographic's rather sobering 20-page publication on the Alberta tar sands, titled "Scraping Bottom." Either way, the timing is brilliant. Dubbed by some as the "most destructive project on Earth" - scarring it visibly from space - there's no doubt that the tar sands extraction industry has a huge environmental footprint, which even President Obama could not help but acknowledge during his visit to Ottawa last week, to the chagrin of some Canadian officials. Many of them, from Prime Minister Stephen Harper on down, are attempting to control the potential damage in the lead up to the ministerial visit to the U.S. next week - but it's almost like watching the frantic efforts of a doctor as the patient is hemorraging to death. "I'm proud of the oil sands. It's a world leader. National Geographic is not going to teach me any lessons about the oil sands," said Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff in a defensive response to the article. Canada's Environment Minister Jim Prentice went on to dismiss the feature as "just one article."

The facts are pretty simple, the U.S. Department of Energy said: "Burning coal is the dirtiest way we produce electricity." And yet oddly the Obama administration, which has embraced climate legislation and green jobs, is a supporter of the oxymoronic "clean coal." The White House Web site proclaims that one of Obama's priorities is to, "develop and deploy clean coal technology." And Obama isn't the only who is helping to spread the "clean coal" myth. The new stimulus bill, which just passed Congress, calls for $3.4 million for "fossil energy research," which refers to carbon dioxide sequestration projects (more on the problems with that below) -- the key component in the "clean coal" fantasy.

It's stuff we all know about - compact fluorescent lighting, wind energy, efficiency, green jobs - the kind of stuff we talk about incessantly on TreeHugger. Yet seeing all these solutions in Earth School's 4-minute trailer of the upcoming documentary Carbon Nation makes them feel more real, just like seeing Al Gore do his shtick in An Inconvenient Truth brought the reality of global warming home (whether or not each individual fact he uttered could be 100 percent proven). And that's a good thing. Global warming gets scarier the more you think about it, but Carbon Nation, scheduled to be released late in the year, aims to dwell not on the scary but on the possibilities for solving the problem.

We look to new leaders in Washington to invest in clean energy - like wind and solar - to get America moving forward and put Americans back to work. These investments will create millions of good-paying jobs in the hardest-hit construction and manufacturing sectors and create pathways out of poverty for the most affected communities. Fill out the form below to call on President-elect Obama and the 111th Congress to produce a plan to Repower, Refuel and Rebuild America.

OPEC has cut oil production targets for the first time in almost 2 years to stem a collapse in prices. The 13 OPEC nations decided to lower supply by 1.5 million barrels a day from Nov 2008, oil ministers said today [24 Oct 2008] at the end of a meeting at the group's Vienna's headquarters. Crude oil has tumbled 57% from a July 11 record of $147.27 a barrel as the financial market crisis spreads, job cuts increase and fuel consumption slows. Prices fell as much as 7.1% to $63.05 on NYMEX after the decision. Another cut in December is "possible," depending on how the oil market reacts, Qatari Oil Minister Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah said.

From SUV's to long commutes, the American lifestyle is based on cheap gasoline. Cheap energy allows us to live far away from our jobs and to engage in conspicuous consumption contests based on who has the biggest automobile. Now, gas prices have skyrocketed, and higher prices at the pump are hitting us where it hurts. Since we also have a presidential election coming up in November, our pain at the pump has been hijacked and turned into a political issue. There are no quick-and-easy solutions to high gas prices, but the Republican candidate, John McCain, is promoting opening up our coasts to offshore drilling as just that: an easy solution that will result in immediate relief.

Costly as it may seem, California's mandate to cut climate-altering exhausts from vehicles and industry by nearly one-third in the next 12 years actually will boost the economy, a state analysis released Wednesday predicts. The improvements in fuel and energy efficiency and extra clean-technology jobs needed to achieve the required 30 percent emissions reduction would result in a net household savings of $400 to $500 a year and a net 0.2 percent or $4 billion gain in the total annual output of goods and services, according to the report.

I've been a Hubbert Schizophrenic for the past seven years. Perhaps you are one too - the diagnosis is easy. The principal symptom is the attempt by the patient to lead two lives, one involving the Peak and its consequences. One of those two lives is the "normal" one, and includes a future predicated on a series of uneventful jobs ending with a decent collection of pensions, and a house with a half acre of grass and the occasional bunch of dark purple iris at the borders, and plentiful ice creams for many Junes to come.

The U.S. Energy Department on Thursday will discuss how to best move 16 million tons of uranium mill tailings off the banks of the Colorado River in Moab, Utah. The Energy Department's contractor on the job, Energy Solutions, will move the tailings pile to a disposal site near Crescent Junction.

It's interesting how none of the proponents of Waxman-Markey would point to the text, but it's not hard to find. It's linked here and is officially called the "American Clean Energy and Security Act". Although it is one of those things intimidatingly described as being over 600 pages long, it was very amusing to discover that the margins and font size match what you'd expect for a nine-year-old's primer. There are about 200 words per page at most. So, though inhumanely formatted, the entire thing is only about 120,000 words. Not an easy thing to read but not overwhelming either. Where did this come from? Waxman and Markey's staffs? Lobbyists? Anyway it is proportionally less mysterious at 200 words per page than at the 1000 or so I imagined. (This is the first time I ever looked at draft legislation.) The claim for the legislation is as follows: The American Clean Energy and Security Act will create millions of new clean energy jobs, save consumers hundreds of billions of dollars in energy costs, enhance America's energy independence, and cut global warming pollution. To meet these goals, the legislation has four titles:

Are the relocalization eco-freaks finally getting a clue??

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced significant progress that will help expedite development of a nationwide "smart" electric power grid. A Smart Grid would replace the current, outdated system and employ real-time, two-way communication technologies to allow users to connect directly with power suppliers. The development of the grid will create jobs and spur the development of innovative products that can be exported. Once implemented, the Smart Grid is expected to save consumers money and reduce America's dependence on foreign oil by improving efficiency and spurring the use of renewable energy sources. Before it can be constructed, however, there needs to be agreement on standards for the devices that will connect the grid. After chairing a meeting of industry leaders at the White House, Locke and Chu announced the first set of standards that are needed for the interoperability and security of the Smart Grid and $10 million in Recovery Act funds provided by the Energy Department to the National Institute of Standards and Technology to support the development of interoperability standards.

Federal employees and contractors are in a unique position to contribute valuable information and save taxpayers huge sums of money, Angela Canterbury, director of advocacy for Public Citizen's Congress Watch division, told lawmakers today. At a hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Canterbury testified in support of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2009 (H.R. 1507), to restore and modernize the law that protects federal whistleblowers. "Not only is it a national disgrace that speaking out about wrongdoing in government is still such a risky endeavor, it also is unsustainable. Federal spending is at unprecedented levels, and the need for strict accountability and oversight has never been more urgent," Canterbury said. "Whether the issue is stimulus spending, fraud at a Wall Street firm, prescription drug safety, environmental protection or national defense, federal workers must be empowered to safeguard the public trust." In 2007, the Ethics Resource Center found that more than half the federal workforce observed misconduct on the job, but only one-quarter of those reported wrongdoing because the rest feared retaliation. More than one in 10 who did report experienced retaliation.

President Obama's $26.4 billion Department of Energy (DOE) budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2010 substantially increases new cash for the development of renewable energies, energy efficiency, and for measures to curb carbon dioxide emissions, but it cuts funding to coal and nuclear programs-fuels that produce 70% of the nation's electricity. The proposed FY 2010 budget, which would take effect on October 1 if approved by Congress, complements $38.7 billion the DOE will invest as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Energy Secretary Steven Chu last week detailed the budget request, highlighting major funding changes from FY 2009. He stressed that while the budget makes important investments in energy independence and job creation, it also cuts back on programs that don't work as well or are no longer needed. Favoring Renewables Among the major increases were to the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). Its budget of $2.3 billion-an increase of 6% over FY 2009-builds on the Recovery Act funding of $16.8 billion. Solar energy got the biggest boost, gaining $320 million, an 83% increase from FY 2009. Wind received $75 million (a 36% increase from FY 2009), geothermal got $50 million (14% increase), while biomass and biorefinery systems research and development gained $235 million (8% increase).

In his keynote speech to the GridWeek 2009 Conference this morning, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu detailed his vision for implementing the smart grid and modernizing America's electrical system: a stronger, smarter, more efficient electricity infrastructure that will encourage growth in renewable energy sources, empower consumers to reduce their energy use, and lay the foundation for sustained, long-term economic expansion. Secretary Chu's presentation can be found here. During his remarks, Secretary Chu also announced more than $144 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for the electric power sector, including $44 million in awards to state public utility commissions and $100 million in available funding for smart grid workforce training programs. "America cannot build a 21st Century energy economy with a mid-20th Century electricity system. This is why the Obama Administration is investing in projects that will lay the foundation for a modernized, resilient electrical grid," said Secretary Chu. "By working with industry leaders and the private sector, we can drive the evolution to a clean, smart, national electricity system that will create jobs, reduce energy use, expand renewable energy production, and cut carbon pollution."

Today, Secretary Steven Chu announced that the Department of Energy has closed on its loan offer of $5.9 billion to Ford Motor Company to transform factories across Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio to produce more fuel efficient models. The loan is part of the Department's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program, which supports the development of innovative, advanced vehicle technologies to create thousands of clean energy jobs while helping reduce the nation's dangerous dependence on foreign oil. The loan for Ford Motor Company is the first to be finalized since the program was appropriated in the fall of 2008. This announcement builds on steps taken by the Obama Administration earlier this week to require an average fuel economy of 35.5 miles per gallon in the year 2016. That standard will reduce oil consumption by an estimated 1.8 billion barrels, prevent greenhouse gas emissions of approximately 950 million metric tons, and save consumers more than $3,000 in fuel costs. The funding announced today will help Ford meet those targets.