Policy

Barack Obama is in the White House, his appointments are almost all confirmed, and everyone on the Hill is pushing a green recovery bill full steam ahead. We're at the cusp of an explosion of green investments, but we're keeping our eyes on the big picture, too.

In his inaugural address on Tuesday, President Obama called for "bold and swift" action to fix our economy and promised to work tirelessly to "roll back the specter of a warming planet."

In his inaugural address, President Obama made clean energy and global warming a priority. He said, "…each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet." He also said, "We will restore science to its rightful place." Nice to hear.

And that's not all: On the White House website… the Energy and Environment section is prominently featured – above the fold.

It's not every day that a witness during a Congressional hearing gets a round of applause. But 1Sky board member Van Jones earned applause in the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming yesterday. Here is the video of his testimony where he lays out why green jobs and a clean economic stimulus are so vital for our country. Please enjoy and share:

With Congress gearing up for an exciting couple weeks, we've seen a lot of action on the Hill lately. Our friends and allies are working hard as well, pulling all-nighters drafting stimulus language, creating a unified call for bold action in the press, and pushing our newly-elected leaders to act on their mandate for change. We're all very excited, but as this list demonstrates, there is still much work to be done.

Right now, the U.S. House of Representatives is considering the economic recovery package. This is a pivotal opportunity to invest in green jobs and clean energy infrastructure, which will give our economy a jump start and invest in the fundamentals of a new clean energy America.

With Congress just beginning it's 111th session this Tuesday, not much has happened just yet, but the new political landscape is still unfolding. This is a summary we prepared for our field organizers nationally, but some of you might find it useful as well. I will post these DC Hill updates weekly on Fridays moving forward.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said this week that she has enough votes to pass cap-and-trade legislation aimed at curbing the effects of global warming, but would not commit to holding a vote in 2009. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Pelosi said she has backing in the Democratic-controlled House to move a cap-and-trade bill, but will not force the issue. When Congressman Ed Markey, since identified as the new Chairman of the new Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment in the Energy and Commerce Committee, was approached on timing, he said “to be determined.”

President-elect Barack Obama made the long-awaited announcements about his picks to head up his new administration’s energy, environment and climate change programs. His choices indicate that he is poised to take bold strides in addressing climate change in a way that acknowledges the interdependency of the economy and energy choices.

It’s going to take a lot more than the bureaucratic and chaotic process I watched in Poznan over the past two weeks for us to cut global warming emissions as deeply and quickly as scientists say is necessary.