Barack Obama has picked his energy team. Says Bloomberg:
Obama named Nobel laureate Steven Chu as his choice as secretary of the Energy Department and Lisa Jackson as head of the Environmental Protection Agency. He also named former EPA chief Carol Browner to fill a new position as head of the National Energy Council and Nancy Sutley to serve as head of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
While lawmakers and presidents in the past have repeatedly promised to find alternative sources of energy, “our dependence on foreign oil has only grown,” the president-elect said today at a Chicago press conference where he announced his picks. “This time has to be different.”
The newly named members of his administration will help push Obama’s goal of having mandatory limits on U.S. greenhouse gases, as well as a proposal to create a $150 billion clean- energy fund to boost renewable technologies.
Jim Fallows reckons Chu is a superb pick, and points to a very interesting interview with him from a few years back. It’s worth a look. As Jim says, scientists who can explain complex concepts easily and without being condescending are always good to have. Chu strikes me as an incredibly smart guy, but not alone that, a very with it guy too.