The outline of a list in local television news is easy enough. Take your station's channel number and plan on finding just enough substance to enumerate your points accordingly.
The process of narrowing down the field for The Top Energy Stories of 2008 was not nearly so neatly packaged. How do you define "a Story"? Does there need to be an obvious inception and a tidy conclusion? Aren't so many of these "Stories" inexorably tied together?
In our CSTV newsroom we even delved into the delivery of the top-five stories. Chronology? A countdown? Flow? You know, if you gather enough passionate journalists it seems you can eventually devolve into an argument about arguments themselves. Fortunately, we all grew sick enough of Existential Journalism Theory that at the very least we quickly decided on a total of five elements for the segment.
The results? Well, they aired as a nearly four-minute piece on Clean Skies Sunday (Sundays, 9:30 AM EST, on Washington's ABC affiliate WJLA-TV). But how about if we settle for a short list and brief details for this particular forum? We'll succumb to tradition and count backwards, but for chaos' sake we won't count in any particular order.
5) The Pickens Plan: This was the first major energy plan of the election season, though its author wasn't actually a candidate. T. Boone Pickens spent $60 million publicizing his plan to eliminate the need for foreign oil by using more abundant natural gas as a transportation fuel, and replacing gas with wind for electricity generation. Both McCain and Obama made time to hear his pitch.
4) New Shale Natural Gas Plays: In July, Navigant released a study estimating as much as 118-years worth of U.S. natural gas proved reserves at last year's production rate. The problem since then? NYMEX natural gas prices have fallen almost 60% since this year's high set on July 3rd.
3) The Boxer-Lieberman-Warner Bill: Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) amended then introduced the plan to institute the first-ever cap on U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Although both McCain and Obama were pushing cap-and-trade policies on the campaign trail, both missed the cloture vote on BLW. Not that it would've mattered, as the bill died without much fight in the Senate.
2) Oil Prices: Oil closed above $100 a barrel on the NYMEX for the first time ever in February, topped the $125 mark in June, and reached an all-time NYMEX high around $147 a barrel the very next month. By December? Oil bottomed out well below $40.
1) The Energy Election: Not that you're likely to forget or even ignore the financial crisis for a moment. But before the fallout became apparent, the presidential candidates were talking energy. Easy to do with voters paying about $4 a gallon this summer. Energy was among the top-three topics on the trail, a talking point in virtually every speech. Until September, that is.
You can catch my year-end story on our website at www.CleanSkies.TV
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
A Green-Tinted Crystal ball
Do you know who Jonathan Lash is? Apparently Barack Obama knows him. Or at least the general media thinks the President-elect knows him.
Lash is now president of The World Resources Institute, an enviro think tank here in DC. But to hear the Washington Rumor Mill tell it, Lash was ready to abandon WRI should the Obama-Biden Administration come calling. I saw credible news outlets tag him as a potential candidate for the EPA Administrator post and the position of climate czar. Neither nomination arrived, and Lash tells me he was "not that close" to joining the new administration.
So, back to why you might want to know who Jonathan Lash is. Well, more of why you want to know what he says. This week I covered his discussion of the environmental trends to watch in 2009, something of a "green media event" at the Newseum. This is the sixth time Lash has publicly and formally looked ahead to the coming year, but only the first time he has said he's encouraged by what he foresees.
Lash shared four topics that will make headlines in '09, including the evolving US-China relationship on and The Lacey Act's potential to derail illegal deforestation and logging around the world. Not surprisingly, the two topics involving policy really grabbed my attention.
First, Lash says the upcoming Obama economic stimulus plan presents a very real opportunity for early movement on energy legislation. I heard Jeff Bingaman, chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, say as much during a hearing last week. In fact, I'm turning a story today about what Energy Committee members tell me they want to see in the package that could approach $1-trillion over two years.
Second, Lash isn't certain Barbara Boxer's announced cap-and-trade plan will be the only climate change legislation we see in 2009. The other source, according to Lash? New House Energy Committee Chairman Henry Waxman. And Lash says any cap-and-trade bill emerging from that committee could be better structured to survive the House floor intact. That is, it would be a "bill from the center," as Lash puts it.
No matter what emerges on cap-and-trade, Lash accurately points out the bill must appeal to the Gang of 17 in the Senate, all of them moderate democrats and all of them representing states with significant coal-fired electricity generation.
No, Jonathan Lash isn't joining the Obama Administration. But he has a great view of what the team has planned, through his green-tinted sunglasses.
And despite all these Green references, the color of the morning was Orange. The Newseum catering team squeezed, poured, and served the best orange juice I can remember. And I'm not really a Juice Guy. Impressive.
Oh, and if you'd like to read a little more about Jonathan Lash (who couldn't have been more accommodating, or less presumptuous) take a look at the WRI website: <http://www.wri.org/profile/jonathan-lash >
Lash is now president of The World Resources Institute, an enviro think tank here in DC. But to hear the Washington Rumor Mill tell it, Lash was ready to abandon WRI should the Obama-Biden Administration come calling. I saw credible news outlets tag him as a potential candidate for the EPA Administrator post and the position of climate czar. Neither nomination arrived, and Lash tells me he was "not that close" to joining the new administration.
So, back to why you might want to know who Jonathan Lash is. Well, more of why you want to know what he says. This week I covered his discussion of the environmental trends to watch in 2009, something of a "green media event" at the Newseum. This is the sixth time Lash has publicly and formally looked ahead to the coming year, but only the first time he has said he's encouraged by what he foresees.
Lash shared four topics that will make headlines in '09, including the evolving US-China relationship on and The Lacey Act's potential to derail illegal deforestation and logging around the world. Not surprisingly, the two topics involving policy really grabbed my attention.
First, Lash says the upcoming Obama economic stimulus plan presents a very real opportunity for early movement on energy legislation. I heard Jeff Bingaman, chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, say as much during a hearing last week. In fact, I'm turning a story today about what Energy Committee members tell me they want to see in the package that could approach $1-trillion over two years.
Second, Lash isn't certain Barbara Boxer's announced cap-and-trade plan will be the only climate change legislation we see in 2009. The other source, according to Lash? New House Energy Committee Chairman Henry Waxman. And Lash says any cap-and-trade bill emerging from that committee could be better structured to survive the House floor intact. That is, it would be a "bill from the center," as Lash puts it.
No matter what emerges on cap-and-trade, Lash accurately points out the bill must appeal to the Gang of 17 in the Senate, all of them moderate democrats and all of them representing states with significant coal-fired electricity generation.
No, Jonathan Lash isn't joining the Obama Administration. But he has a great view of what the team has planned, through his green-tinted sunglasses.
And despite all these Green references, the color of the morning was Orange. The Newseum catering team squeezed, poured, and served the best orange juice I can remember. And I'm not really a Juice Guy. Impressive.
Oh, and if you'd like to read a little more about Jonathan Lash (who couldn't have been more accommodating, or less presumptuous) take a look at the WRI website: <http://www.wri.org/profile
Friday, December 12, 2008
Assessing Carol Browner, or "...In Due Time."
Joining the Obama Cabinet generally requires Senate confirmation, while joining the Obama-Biden Transition team of course does not. Yet both means of imposing your political will are beginning to converge.
Former EPA Administrator Carol Browner is...wait. That modifier doesn't begin to explain the scope of her power, influence, and competence while at the agency. She held the position longer than any other asdministrator, and that includes two-time leader William Ruckelshaus. And during her tenure, Browner went hand-to-hand with Gingrich and The Contract and the '94 Midterms and, well, I don't know that she won exactly. But she did emerge standing.
With that in mind, the problem here is that referring to Carol Browner as "Former EPA Administrator for not just the Clinton Administration but the entire depth and breadth of the Clinton Admninistration and the longest-serving administrator ever," well, that's long-winded even for a theoretically infinite blog. So, let's skip the litany of adjectives.
Carol Browner is the President-elect's apparent choice for the first-ever Head of the White House Energy and Environment Council. Again, I'm inclined to forgo the modifiers and simplify the position as "Climate Czar." I think there's no need to sift through the ideologies behind her successes at the EPA, since quite simply Barack Obama's climate philosophy will be hers.
And that's especially handy, since accepting the Climate Czar post means she'll be leaving her position on the Transition Team, where she presumably has some say in selecting the DOE and EPA nominees, the Environmental Council appointee, and, well, herself.
While there's nothing inherently odd or surprising about Browner's selection, indeed the move is generally receiving loud applause here in DC, I find an odd humor in the process after hearing her speak last week at a forum on "The Green Economy." Afterward, as We The Press swarmed to ask her the requisite green-eggs-and-ham questions (those we surely knew she "...would not answer in a room/would not answer on the moon..."), Browner responded to each query about the timing of the President-elect's unnamed nominees by saying simply, "In due time." Becasue of our dogged tenacity, and limited imaginations, she uttered those words three times in about a minute and a half. Now, I wonder if she did indeed know not only that she'd be named Climate Czar, Chu would get DOE, and Jackson EPS, but also the exact date when all three of them will be introduced. You know, the press concference will take place In Due Time the morning of December 16th.
Oh, and the location of the green economy forum that day? The Center for American Progress (where Carol Browner is/was a board member). The center that John Podesta birthed. You know, before he joined the Obama-Biden Transition Team.
And well before he had Carol Browner come on board, too.
Here's a link to Carol Browner's biography from her private-sector employer, The Albright Group: <http://www.thealbrightgroupllc.com/Who_We_Are.htm >
Former EPA Administrator Carol Browner is...wait. That modifier doesn't begin to explain the scope of her power, influence, and competence while at the agency. She held the position longer than any other asdministrator, and that includes two-time leader William Ruckelshaus. And during her tenure, Browner went hand-to-hand with Gingrich and The Contract and the '94 Midterms and, well, I don't know that she won exactly. But she did emerge standing.
With that in mind, the problem here is that referring to Carol Browner as "Former EPA Administrator for not just the Clinton Administration but the entire depth and breadth of the Clinton Admninistration and the longest-serving administrator ever," well, that's long-winded even for a theoretically infinite blog. So, let's skip the litany of adjectives.
Carol Browner is the President-elect's apparent choice for the first-ever Head of the White House Energy and Environment Council. Again, I'm inclined to forgo the modifiers and simplify the position as "Climate Czar." I think there's no need to sift through the ideologies behind her successes at the EPA, since quite simply Barack Obama's climate philosophy will be hers.
And that's especially handy, since accepting the Climate Czar post means she'll be leaving her position on the Transition Team, where she presumably has some say in selecting the DOE and EPA nominees, the Environmental Council appointee, and, well, herself.
While there's nothing inherently odd or surprising about Browner's selection, indeed the move is generally receiving loud applause here in DC, I find an odd humor in the process after hearing her speak last week at a forum on "The Green Economy." Afterward, as We The Press swarmed to ask her the requisite green-eggs-and-ham questions (those we surely knew she "...would not answer in a room/would not answer on the moon..."), Browner responded to each query about the timing of the President-elect's unnamed nominees by saying simply, "In due time." Becasue of our dogged tenacity, and limited imaginations, she uttered those words three times in about a minute and a half. Now, I wonder if she did indeed know not only that she'd be named Climate Czar, Chu would get DOE, and Jackson EPS, but also the exact date when all three of them will be introduced. You know, the press concference will take place In Due Time the morning of December 16th.
Oh, and the location of the green economy forum that day? The Center for American Progress (where Carol Browner is/was a board member). The center that John Podesta birthed. You know, before he joined the Obama-Biden Transition Team.
And well before he had Carol Browner come on board, too.
Here's a link to Carol Browner's biography from her private-sector employer, The Albright Group: <http://www.thealbrightgrou
Monday, December 8, 2008
Sen Barbara Boxer Presser
Is there a fine line between politicking and pushing?
I'm in the Senate Radio-TV Gallery after finishing up a press conference with Sen. Barbara Boxer. Last month, she announced legislation to have the EPA set up a CO2 cap-and-trade system. So, today I asked her about what qualities she wants from the President-elect's nominee for EPA administrator.
Her answer? Well, to summarize, Essentially every quality that Mary Nichols has. We're expecting Barack Obama to announce his energy & environmental team sometime soon. And the Environment and Public Works Chair was effusive in her support for Nichols. Their California roots run deep.
Then again, she sounds as though she'll support whomever the President-elect nominates, likely to be Nichols or Lisa Jackson, given the senator's take on current Administrator Stephen Johnson. She told me, "He's been a nightmare! He has actually given me nightmares."
Change, according to the EPW chair, is good.
And she's not wasting any time with the new administration. Her climate change bill should drop in January.
You can read Barbara Boxer's statement on her plans for cap-and-trade legislation on her committee's website: <http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Majority.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=bb28fac6-802a-23ad-475a-fd8b6f1152b8&Region_id=&Issue_id =>
I'm in the Senate Radio-TV Gallery after finishing up a press conference with Sen. Barbara Boxer. Last month, she announced legislation to have the EPA set up a CO2 cap-and-trade system. So, today I asked her about what qualities she wants from the President-elect's nominee for EPA administrator.
Her answer? Well, to summarize, Essentially every quality that Mary Nichols has. We're expecting Barack Obama to announce his energy & environmental team sometime soon. And the Environment and Public Works Chair was effusive in her support for Nichols. Their California roots run deep.
Then again, she sounds as though she'll support whomever the President-elect nominates, likely to be Nichols or Lisa Jackson, given the senator's take on current Administrator Stephen Johnson. She told me, "He's been a nightmare! He has actually given me nightmares."
Change, according to the EPW chair, is good.
And she's not wasting any time with the new administration. Her climate change bill should drop in January.
You can read Barbara Boxer's statement on her plans for cap-and-trade legislation on her committee's website: <http://epw.senate.gov/publ
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Gov. Kaine Interview
My energy and climate change discussion with Virginia Governor Tim Kaine aired today on Clean Skies Sunday (Sunday mornings, 9:30 AM, on the ABC affiliate in Washington, DC). The main topic in my mind, his effort to implement an emission-reduction system for the 16 states comprising the Southern Governors Association.
Gov. Kaine is the incoming chairman of the executive committee, so he should wield some imfluence in the coming year, but he tells me he isn't sure what kind of system would work best. RGGI (10 states) held its first allowance auction this fall. The Western Climate Initiative (7 member states, 5 observers) seems to be next in line, with the Midwestern Governors Association (12 states) after that. If the SGA's 16 states go cap-and-trade, federal legislation may be more organizational than authoritative.
Second area of interest, offshore exploration for natural gas and oil. The federal moratorium banning drilling in the Outer Continentail Shelf expired with a whimper on September 30th, effectively throwing open the Virginia coast (and all others on the Atlantic and Pacific) to within three miles of shore. Gov. Kaine told me he wants exploration only outside of a 50-mile buffer zone, the same thing we heard from Democratic House leaders this summer. We'll see what changes if/when comprehensive mapping reveals any major plays within the sightlines of popular beaches.
Final big-picture topic with the Governor, the future of coal-fired generation. That's the source of roughly 45% of Virginia electricity according to the EIA, and the state's the nation's 11th-leading coal producer (also EIA 2007). Gov. Kaine says carbon capture and storage is critical, as does virtually everyone else now holding office, though the guesses I hear seem to point to 2020.
On Monday I saw Thomas Friedman at CAP saying definitively that CCS would not happen by 2020, simply because we'll find another technology that will do the job even better. His point? Wish in one hand, enterprise like crazy in the other, and see which captures cabon first.
You can see my entire interview with Gov. Kaine on Clean Skies TV's Interactive Programming Guide (just surf a little): <http://cleanskies.tv/#>
Gov. Kaine is the incoming chairman of the executive committee, so he should wield some imfluence in the coming year, but he tells me he isn't sure what kind of system would work best. RGGI (10 states) held its first allowance auction this fall. The Western Climate Initiative (7 member states, 5 observers) seems to be next in line, with the Midwestern Governors Association (12 states) after that. If the SGA's 16 states go cap-and-trade, federal legislation may be more organizational than authoritative.
Second area of interest, offshore exploration for natural gas and oil. The federal moratorium banning drilling in the Outer Continentail Shelf expired with a whimper on September 30th, effectively throwing open the Virginia coast (and all others on the Atlantic and Pacific) to within three miles of shore. Gov. Kaine told me he wants exploration only outside of a 50-mile buffer zone, the same thing we heard from Democratic House leaders this summer. We'll see what changes if/when comprehensive mapping reveals any major plays within the sightlines of popular beaches.
Final big-picture topic with the Governor, the future of coal-fired generation. That's the source of roughly 45% of Virginia electricity according to the EIA, and the state's the nation's 11th-leading coal producer (also EIA 2007). Gov. Kaine says carbon capture and storage is critical, as does virtually everyone else now holding office, though the guesses I hear seem to point to 2020.
On Monday I saw Thomas Friedman at CAP saying definitively that CCS would not happen by 2020, simply because we'll find another technology that will do the job even better. His point? Wish in one hand, enterprise like crazy in the other, and see which captures cabon first.
You can see my entire interview with Gov. Kaine on Clean Skies TV's Interactive Programming Guide (just surf a little): <http://cleanskies.tv/#>
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