What Does Obama's Cabinet Have in Store for Alternative Energy? 27 comments
Charles Morand
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As the Obama inauguration nears and his cabinet picks are made public, the impact of his presidency on the alternative energy sector is becoming more tangible. During the campaign, we heard plenty on Barack Obama's views on environmental regulation, climate change and alternative energy. But what about the people who will be advising him day-to-day on these matters, and who will be ambassadors both inside and out of the country for the administration's policies?
One thing is for certain: Obama's picks so far for positions with influence on energy and environmental matters mark a clear break from the Bush administration. I was doing some reading on the matter and put together the table below, along with certain stock categories that could see some upside as a result of these individuals' influence on the incoming administration's policy agenda.
To be sure, not all of these individuals will have the same degree of influence on the President, and past opinions or actions may not be an indication of future ones. Nevertheless, two main things emerge from this table, in my view.
First, few if any of these individuals have a history of cozying up to the fossil fuel industry, whether oil & gas or coal. This is markedly different from what people got used to under the Bush administration and while I wouldn't say this is grounds for shorting O&G or coal stocks, these industries should not expect energy policy to be as favorable as it has been over the past eight years.
Second, in most cases, these individuals have openly stated that they view climate change as a significant problem that should be addressed. It is therefore nearly certain that greenhouse gases will be regulated at the federal level.
Obama made his views on alternative energy and climate policy known a long time ago. His appointments confirm that he intends on carrying through with his promises. While I continue to believe that the White House won't seek to have tight climate regulations enacted as long as the economy remains soft, such regulations, likely in the form of a cap-and-trade system, will almost certainly be brought forward before this presidential term is over.
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This article has 27 comments:
Senator / Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar has done the most to nurse this biofuels system in his Biochar provisions in the 07 & 08 farm bill,
www.biochar-internatio...
Biotic Carbon, the carbon transformed by life, should never be combusted, oxidized and destroyed. It deserves more respect, reverence even, and understanding to use it back to the soil where 2/3 of excess atmospheric carbon originally came from.
We all know we are carbon-centered life, we seldom think about the complex web of recycled bio-carbon which is the true center of life. A cradle to cradle, mutually co-evolved biosphere reaching into every crack and crevice on Earth.
It's hard for most to revere microbes and fungus, but from our toes to our gums (onward), their balanced ecology is our health. The greater earth and soils are just as dependent, at much longer time scales. Our farming for over 10,000 years has been responsible for 2/3rds of our excess greenhouse gases. This soil carbon, converted to carbon dioxide, Methane & Nitrous oxide began a slow stable warming that now accelerates with burning of fossil fuel.
Wise Land management; Organic farming and afforestation can build back our soil carbon,
Biochar allows the soil food web to build much more recalcitrant organic carbon, ( living biomass & Glomalins) in addition to the carbon in the biochar.
Biochar, the modern version of an ancient Amazonian agricultural practice called Terra Preta (black earth), is gaining widespread credibility as a way to address world hunger, climate change, rural poverty, deforestation, and energy shortages… SIMULTANEOUSLY!
Charles Mann ("1491") in the Sept. National Geographic has a wonderful soils article which places Terra Preta / Biochar soils center stage.
ngm.nationalgeographic...
It's what Mann hasn't covered that I thought should interest any writer as a follow up article;
Biochar data base;
terrapreta.bioenergyli...
NASA's Dr. James Hansen Global warming solutions paper and letter to the G-8 conference, placing Biochar / Land management the central technology for carbon negative energy systems.
arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/pa...
The many new university programs & field studies, in temperate soils; Cornell, ISU, U of H, U of GA, Virginia Tech, JMU, New Zealand and Australia.
Glomalin's role in soil tilth, fertility & basis for the soil food web in Terra Preta soils.
Given the current "Crisis" atmosphere concerning energy, soil sustainability, food vs. Biofuels, and Climate Change what other subject addresses them all?
This is a Nano technology for the soil that represents the most comprehensive, low cost, and productive approach to long term stewardship and sustainability.
Carbon to the Soil, the only ubiquitous and economic place to put it.
The climate change/alternative energy crowd is inherently power-seeking in the political sense. To characterize Lisa Jackson's commitment to "fighting climate change" (oh, how noble!) as driven by science rather than politics is, in itself, an oxymoron. "CLIMATE CHANGE" IS A POLITICAL PHRASE AND A POLITICAL MOVEMENT, MR. MORAN! It has little or nothing to do with science. (By the way, Mr. Moran, whatever happened to the inconvenient lie, "global warming"? Becomes a bit of a liability with respect to common sense as we plow through one of the coldest winters in recent history.)
Barack Obama has only four years to save the world. That is the stark assessment of NASA scientist and leading climate expert Jim Hansen who last week warned only urgent action by the new president could halt the devastating climate change that now threatens Earth. Crucially, that action will have to be taken within Obama’s first administration, he added.
Soaring carbon emissions are already causing ice-cap melting and threaten to trigger global flooding, widespread species loss and major disruptions of weather patterns in the near future. "We cannot afford to put off change any longer," said Hansen. "We have to get on a new path within this new administration. We have only four years left for Obama to set an example to the rest of the world. America must take the lead."
Hansen said current carbon levels in the atmosphere were already too high to prevent runaway greenhouse warming. Yet the levels are still rising despite all the efforts of politicians and scientists.
Only the U.S. now had the political muscle to lead the world and halt the rise, Hansen said. Cap-and-trade schemes, in which emission permits are bought and sold, have failed, he said, and must now be replaced by a carbon tax that will imposed on all producers of fossil fuels. At the same time, there must be a moratorium on new power plants that burn coal - the world's worst carbon emitter.
Hansen - head of the Goddard Institute of Space Studies - first warned Earth was in danger from climate change in 1988. Hansen's institute monitors data that has led him to conclude that most estimates of sea level rises triggered by rising atmospheric temperatures are too low and too conservative.
However, Hansen said feedbacks in the climate system are already accelerating ice melt and are threatening to lead to the collapse of ice sheets. Sea-level rises will therefore be far greater - a claim backed last week by a group of scientists who said studies indicate that a far more likely figure for sea-level rise will be enough to cause devastating flooding of many of the world's major cities and of low-lying areas of Holland, Bangladesh and other nations.
As a result of his fears about sea-level rise, Hansen said he had pressed the US National Academy of Sciences to carry out an urgent investigation of the state of the planet's ice-caps. The first task of Obama's new climate office should therefore be to order such a probe "as a matter of urgency", Hansen added.
Guardian UK 1-19-09
I would listen very carefully to all of the people mentioned above, giving them as a group about 15 minutes once a week, following which I would smile and thank them for their input on energy matters. After they were out of the room I would arrange to talk to someone who knows something about this topic.
I'm sorry. Tomorrow I will attend a small 'party' at my university in honor of the new president, but if he is really concerned with energy matters, he should be aware that there is a lot of bad advice on energy matters going around, and he should try to avoid receiving too much of it.
On Jan 19 08:37 AM Erich J. Knight wrote:
> Biochar Soil Technology; terrapreta.bioenergyli...
>
>
> Senator
/
> Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar has done the most to nurse this
biofuels
> system in his Biochar provisions in the 07 & 08 farm bill,<br/>
>
> www.biochar-internatio...
>
>
> Biotic
Carbon,
> the carbon transformed by life, should never be combusted,
oxidized
> and destroyed. It deserves more respect, reverence even, and
understanding
> to use it back to the soil where 2/3 of excess
atmospheric
> carbon originally came from.
>
> We all know we are
carbon-centered
> life, we seldom think about the complex web of recycled
bio-carbon
> which is the true center of life. A cradle to cradle,
mutually
> co-evolved biosphere reaching into every crack and crevice on
Earth.
>
>
> It's hard for most to revere microbes and fungus, but
from
> our toes to our gums (onward), their balanced ecology is our
health.
> The greater earth and soils are just as dependent, at much
longer
> time scales. Our farming for over 10,000 years has been
responsible
> for 2/3rds of our excess greenhouse gases. This soil
carbon,
> converted to carbon dioxide, Methane & Nitrous oxide began
a
> slow stable warming that now accelerates with burning of fossil fuel.
>
>
> Wise Land management; Organic farming and afforestation can build
> back our soil carbon,
>
> Biochar
allows
> the soil food web to build much more recalcitrant organic
carbon,
> ( living biomass & Glomalins) in addition to the carbon in
the
> biochar.
>
> Biochar, the modern version of an ancient Amazonian
agricultural
> practice called Terra Preta (black earth), is gaining
widespread
> credibility as a way to address world hunger, climate
change,
> rural poverty, deforestation, and energy shortages…
SIMULTANEOUSLY!
>
>
>
> Charles Mann ("1491") in the Sept. National
Geographic
> has a wonderful soils article which places Terra Preta /
Biochar
> soils center stage.
>
> ngm.nationalgeographic...
>
> It's what Mann hasn't covered that I thought should interest any
> writer as a follow up article;
>
> Biochar data base;
>
> terrapreta.bioenergyli...
>
> NASA's
Dr.
> James Hansen Global warming solutions paper and letter to the G-8
conference,
> placing Biochar / Land management the central technology
for
> carbon negative energy systems.
>
> arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/pa...
>
> The
many
> new university programs & field studies, in temperate soils;
Cornell,
> ISU, U of H, U of GA, Virginia Tech, JMU, New Zealand and
Australia.
>
>
> Glomalin's role in soil tilth, fertility & basis for the soil
> food web in Terra Preta soils.
>
> Given
the
> current "Crisis" atmosphere concerning energy, soil sustainability,
food
> vs. Biofuels, and Climate Change what other subject addresses them
all?
>
>
> This is a Nano technology for the soil that represents the
most
> comprehensive, low cost, and productive approach to long term
stewardship
> and sustainability.
>
> Carbon to the Soil, the only ubiquitous and economic place to put
> it.
A question, FEB, what is your interest in the stocks mentioned? Do you own any of these stocks? And why do you own them?
If indeed you are what your represent yourself to be, a little more clarity might be helpful. Without some additional disclousure, one is left with nothing more than a self-promoting comment.
Uh....GDP is already moving backwards absent a comprehensive alternative energy plan. Did you mean that GDP will retreat even faster than it is now?
Using this logic, it will never be the right time to develop a comprehensive alternative energy plan. I see no evidence that the incoming administration thinks it can "walk on water" in regards to alternative energy. Rather, they are recognizing that past efforts have been lacking and adopting an attitude that we do need to step up & put the same effort into this important area that we have put into weapons systems, space exploration, etc.
On Jan 19 09:07 AM Stephen Metzger wrote:
> Where the Obama administration and the Bush administration differ
> radically is in their adherence to the private market system. Obama's
> picks think they (and alternative energy) can walk on water, whereas
> President Bush, when it came to energy, saw energy independence as
> intrinsically tied to private markets. If, indeed, a plan is hatched
> and implemented to force alternative energy on the nation, GDP growth
> will slow to a walk (a stumbling one at that) and energy independence
> will be as far off as it ever was.
>
> The climate change/alternative energy crowd is inherently power-seeking
> in the political sense. To characterize Lisa Jackson's commitment
> to "fighting climate change" (oh, how noble!) as driven by science
> rather than politics is, in itself, an oxymoron. "CLIMATE CHANGE"
> IS A POLITICAL PHRASE AND A POLITICAL MOVEMENT, MR. MORAN! It has
> little or nothing to do with science. (By the way, Mr. Moran, whatever
> happened to the inconvenient lie, "global warming"? Becomes a bit
> of a liability with respect to common sense as we plow through one
> of the coldest winters in recent history.)
Plant more trees!
The facts and figures do not support the rantings of "deniers" like the Heartland Institute.
We'll need the coal, but Big O will bankrupt the coal utilities while foreign interests seize control of our nation's coal bounty by snatching up coal stocks at a bargain.
Committee) has assessed the current electric power
delivery system infrastructure and concludes that it
will be unable to ensure a reliable, cost-effective,
secure, and environmentally sustainable supply of
electricity for the next two decades.
The early warning signs of a declining electric power
delivery infrastructure are visible today. Fuel
transportation, particularly by rail, is congested, and
any outage of a rail line can create stress on electric
power supply. Coal piles at power plants have been
low in the recent past. Much of the electricity supply
and delivery infrastructure is nearing the end of its
useful life. Without attention, natural gas demand
could grow faster than the supply and capacity of the
associated infrastructure to produce and deliver it.
Spent nuclear fuel storage at some reactors is
reaching capacity without any policy direction on
long-term storage or reprocessing of spent nuclear
fuel. The integration of renewable energy resources
rises and falls with the ebb and flow of congressional
legislation to fund the production tax credits (PTCs).
The transmission infrastructure is aging and
becoming more congested. Further development of
the infrastructure is impeded by an archaic patchwork
of cost allocation policies, fragmented permitting and
siting practices, and varying needs analyses that are
limited in focus and scope.
The engineering, science, and technology expertise
required to meet the formidable technical challenges
of keeping the lights on in the future is disappearing...."
www.oe.energy.gov/Docu......
So here's the plan given to the Obama team (and by the way, the basis for my plan, the Livermore National Labs and AIE's own data, is a familar source associated with the new energy czar, Steven Chu):
The attached figure (Livermore National Labs US Energy Consumption - 2002; EIA) is my basis for good energy planning for the US with the overall goals of:
I) eliminating wasted energy (56 of 97 Quads, or 58% of total US consumption is lost), and
II) leaving natural energy resources stored in the ground until we REALLY need them, while maximizing readily available and free forever solar and wind, and other alternatives (while eliminating trillions of foreign financial payments).
1. Reduce wasted energy in ELECTRIC POWER GENERATION (26 Quads or 68% of power generation energy is lost).
1.1. Promote Solar PV and Wind.
1.2. Promote pumped/stored hydro (and end-use storage technologies to handle the variability of 1.1. generation).
1.3. Permit steam-to-electricity generation in combined cycle plants only where low pressure steam is utilized (even if thermal solar; AND nuclear[?]. Nuclear is dense enough and safe enough to promote block heating in cities as in Europe, or process industrialized areas?)
1.4. Stop burning coal (and the networked supporting industries from mining, transportation, pollution, reclamation, maintenance, etc., without causing a depression - like, put the folks to work building solar and wind farms, and the new interstate power grid and electrified ferries of 1.7 below; same for the oil, gas and auto guys, etc.). Do 1.1. and 1.7.
1.5. Stop burning natural gas. Do 1.1. and 1.2.
1.6. Don't even think about processing any tar sands, oil shale, or coal gasification and liquefaction methods which are ultimately burned for POWER GENERATION or TRANSPORTATION after adding cost (not to mention all the networked industry complexities as mentioned above for coal). Consider these sources only "when there is no other way" situations: like we run out of crude oil and need plastics.
1.7. Construct the new upgraded electric power grid in, above, below, or alongside the existing interstate highway right-of-ways which lead to major cities (where energy is used while passing thru the hinterlands within 50-100 miles of future solar and wind power farms).
1.7.1. Integrate within these same interstate right-of-ways ELECTRIFIED FERRIES for cargo, vehicles and people, both two-way high speed interstate express and two-way local intrastate travel.
2. Reduce wasted energy in TRANSPORTATION (21 Quads or 80% of transportation energy is lost):
2.1. Do 1.7. and 1.7.1. for intra- and interstate travel.
2.2. Promote local transit systems within congested urban beltways, linked to the interstate highway system of 1.7.
2.3. Promote hybrid and electric vehicles for personal commuting, local fleet service and commercial delivery.
2.4 Promote biofuels for hybrids, ground, rail, air and water transportation.
Much of the above is currently valid for developing countries which are repeating the mistakes the US made which hopefully can be redirected - be it because of air pollution [China, India], government edict, new alternatives, etc.).
Much of the above already exists in Europe, Japan... So it can be done. It may take a permanent energy tax to fund the above; and as wasted energy is reduced, the tax goes away. A wonder we've not seen.
Global Warming and recent cold winters have little or no short term relationship. They will be directly connected long term as the Arctic ice melts and thus disrupts the flow of the Gulf Stream which has been warming the Northern US and Europe. Google Mini Ice Age or check out the info on the Mini or Little Ice age. As the ice melts it's affect on the Northern Hemisphere is to cool it, and begin the cycle of ice creation all over again. Get out your mittens if you live on the East Coast. news.nationalgeographi...
static.seekingalpha.co...
https://eed.llnl.gov/f...
eed.llnl.gov/flow/02fl...
Self promotion, you betcha. As the leading...well, you know, it's my duty to comment on current energy matters that interest me, rather than to pretend that President Obama's 'environmental team' is up to snuff. This team should never have been mobilized. For example, as Mark Goldes points out, James Hansen prefers carbon taxes instead of cap and trade, and so does the CEO of Exxon-Mobile, and so does the leading...well, you know, but still that team waffles about cap-and-trade.
Complicating the matter are claims that the transmission lines are not actually carrying renewable energy at all, but represent a thinly-disguised strategy to stick to old energy practices.
The green energy dream: Why it may not happen."
www.pbs.org/now/shows/...
Of course the poor will be the ones who will suffer. The people the lefties hate so much.
all WIND stocks, all winners with Obama
SO WHY SHOULD HE FILED TAXES. ALL MEMBER OF THE CONGRESS AND THE MAN IN THE WHITE WITH HIS STAFF SHOULD BE FORCED TO RELEASE THEIR STOCK PURCHASES. IF WE CAN SEE WHAT THEY ARE BUYING, THEN WE WILL KNOW WHAT THEIR ENERGY POLICY WILL BE.
YOU KNOW I AM CORRECT
On Jan 19 08:24 AM redbaron wrote:
> Good analysis, and no doubt Ed K is right that timing is going to
> be critical to energy related stocks. Becoming an energy independent
> country, however, is not anywhere on my horizon, as we are just too
> far away from that to consider it a possibility. A nice dream, but
> not reality.