Obamania

Did Obama mean all that pretty stuff he said about clean energy and climate change in the campaign -- and reiterated since winning the election? The year to come will tell the tale. He has already assembled a seasoned green team, with Clinton EPA administrator Carol Browner in a new executive office to coordinate energy and climate efforts. Three key positions -- energy secretary, White House science adviser, and NOAA administrator -- will be occupied by highly regarded professional scientists who have raised alarms about climate change -- respectively, Steven Chu, John Holdren, and Jane Lubchenco. There will be a champion of environment justice and green jobs, Rep. Hilda Solis, as labor secretary, and a new White House Office of Urban Policy. Two close allies, Nancy Pelosi and Henry Waxman, are in key environmental positions in the House of Representatives, and Dems have 58 or 59 seats in the Senate, where most green legislation has gone to die. All is not ponies -- Obama's choices for Agriculture and Transportation are uninspiring at best -- but the big pieces are in place. There may be no magic, but there is sure to be plenty of action. And if we fall prey to that tickling sensation, we might even venture some hope for science, common sense, and competence at the helm of a ship that's been drifting blind for far too long.