From the Economist ~ The president directs the EPA to reconsider standards AS A senator, during his campaign for the presidency and in his inaugural address, Barack Obama repeatedly pledged to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil and to tackle global warming. On January 26th he made what he called “a down-payment” on those pledges, signing two executive orders concerning greenhouse-gas emissions. The move signalled a break with George Bush’s foot-dragging and hinted at grander things to come. The first order instructed officials to come up with a federal fuel-economy target for 2011. Mr Bush had signed a bill in (more...)

NPR Morning Edition · When Vice President Al Gore returned from Kyoto, Japan, with a climate treaty in 1997, it was already a dead letter. The Senate, which ratifies treaties, strongly opposed the deal even before Gore signed it. On Wednesday, Gore returned to the Senate to offer advice about how to arrive at a different outcome as a new climate treaty is negotiated this year in Copenhagen, Denmark. The federal calendar is packed with pressing business in 2009. One of the toughest deadlines is to lay the groundwork for the international climate talks in Copenhagen. Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), (more...)

By JOHN M. BRODER, New York Times WASHINGTON — President Obama is moving quickly to act on the environmental promises that were a centerpiece of his campaign. But tackling global warming will be far more difficult — and more costly — than the new emissions standards for automobiles he ordered with the stroke of a pen on Monday. Already, the Congressional Democrats Mr. Obama will need to carry out his mandate are feuding with one another. By coincidence or design, most of the policy makers on Capitol Hill and in the administration charged with shaping legislation to address global warming (more...)

PORTSMOUTH, NH – Susan F. Tierney, one of the founders of Clean Air - Cool Planet and immediate past chair of the Portsmouth-based climate non profit, will be named as deputy secretary of the US Department of Energy according to reports from sources close to the Obama transition team. Tierney was assistant secretary of energy for policy in the Clinton administration and more recently an energy and economics consultant with Boston-based Analysis Group. “It speaks well for the intentions of the Obama Administration to tackle the climate issue that someone of Sue Tierney’s caliber is named to a top position (more...)