Archives » Friday, December 05, 2008
-
Daniel Stone
|
Dec 5, 2008 12:47 AM
For environmental thinkers, there's at lot at stake for several of
Obama's top cabinet posts. But the most recent one gathered a
surprising amount of attention and support from several prominent green
leaders in Washington. It wasn't one of the obvious posts with
environmental implications, like EPA administrator of Interior
secretary. Neither of those jobs have been filled. Nope, it was Bill
Richardson as captain of Commerce.
The Department of Commerce
has historically had little to do with saving the earth. The exchange
of money for goods and services usually has a much more negative than
positive impact on the environment, owing to pollution from manufacturing
and transportation processes. But at a time when America's economic
goals are lining up with global environmental efforts, an old post
calls for a fresh face -- and someone who understands the broadness of
the challenge and the rich possibilities for a solution.
As my colleague Kate Sheppard points out over at environmental news site Grist.org, to the green community, Richardson's appointment was a home run.
She found that environmentalists laud the pick because they expect
Richardson's decisions at Commerce will be good for green jobs and are
likely to help spur green business. League of Conservation Voters
president Gene Karpinski told Grist that Richardson is the kind of guy
who "recognizes both the economic threat of global warming and the
economic potential of renewable energy," which implies some pretty
broad thinking.
And just going out on a limb here, Richardson's appearance could also be factor. Before he shaved off his beard last month, he was one step closer to almost resembling environmental hero John Muir. But that's just pure speculation.
More
