Much of the news about President Obama (prior to Inauguration week) has concerned his efforts with respect to federal bailout funds, but his cabinet choices are likely to have a longer-lasting impact. Three that are of particular importance to valve manufacturers and users are his choices for Secretary of Energy, the EPA administrator, and the presidential assistant on energy and climate change. What will these people mean for the valve industry, and are they likely to make positive or negative changes?

Secretary of Energy

President Obama’s pick for Secretary of Energy is Dr. Steven Chu, Nobel prize-winning physicist and director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Dr. Chu appears to have said all the right things before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, pledging to push the president’s plans for climate change legislation, and at the same time voicing support for increased nuclear energy, clean coal technology (an apparent back-pedaling from previous anti-coal statements) and some more oil drilling. He also stepped back from earlier statements advocating increased gasoline taxes.  

Chu received endorsements from both the Sierra Club and the American Chemistry Council (ACC). Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope said of Chu, in part, “The selection of Dr. Chu, a Nobel laureate with considerable experience and interest in climate science and clean energy technology, only further underscores Obama's commitment to return science to its rightful place in the policy process. Dr. Chu's knowledge and experience will be an invaluable addition to Obama's slate of key advisers.”

ACC President & CEO Cal Doole issued the following statement, in part: “ACC shares Dr. Chu’s commitment to principles such as energy efficiency and conservation, development of alternative and renewable energy, and energy security and diversity, including nuclear power. Such approaches will be vital to fulfilling growing global energy demand and adding ‘green jobs’ while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

EPA Administrator

Those concerned that the new administration will move sharply toward increased environmental enforcement were probably not reassured by the incoming president’s selection of Lisa Jackson for EPA administrator, while environmentalists may cheer it. Ms. Jackson, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, said on Jan. 14 that “she would immediately revisit the Bush administration's decision to block California and 18 other states from setting tough limits on greenhouse gases from vehicles, and she hinted strongly that she will overturn it.”

In Senate testimony, according to ABC News, she “outlined the key objectives of Obama's environmental initiatives, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions, addressing air pollution and toxic chemicals, clean water and hazardous waste sites.” And despite some grumbling from Republicans and the Heritage Foundation about her advocacy of limitations on greenhouse gas emissions, her confirmation seems pretty well assured.

Said the Sierra Club’s Carl Pope, “The Sierra Club has had a very close, very positive relationship with Lisa Jackson during her many years of public service in New Jersey. We now very much look forward to working with her in her new role as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. She brings a strong scientific background to an agency where for the past eight years science and knowledge have been systematically corrupted and disregarded.”

Energy Czar (or Czarina, if you will)

Carol Browner will serve in the newly created position of presidential assistant on energy and climate change, a position that does not require Senate confirmation, and some have suggested that she will be not only more pro-environment that Dr. Chu but also more powerful. Environmentalists have praised her. Said Pope, “Browner has proven she has a profound understanding of how environmental protections and clean energy benefit not only America's health and safety but are also crucial to our long-term economic prosperity. Creating this new position and filling it with an individual of such stature is yet another sign of the seriousness of the new administration's commitment in this crucial area."

Others hold differing opinions. The Washington Times and Fox News accused her of belonging to a socialist organization. While it so far seems not to have spoken up on the matter, in 2000 the U.S. Chamber of Commerce had urged Browner, then head of the EPA, not to reclassify coal waste as hazardous, although with the recent event in Tennessee the Chamber may not want that overly publicized.

At this point it seems too early to tell what policies these people will advocate. While strongly pro-environment, their actions may be influenced by economic and political considerations. We’ll just have to wait and see.