Ever seen a face that just seems all-too-familiar? Not unusual for me at the regular ACORE policy forums here on Capitol Hill. The American Council On Renewable Energy tends to bring in The Usual Suspects for its major events, big guns like Google's Dan Reicher and this year's keynotes, White House Climate Advisor Carol Browner and Senate Energy Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman. So in addition to getting in on some deep policy discussions, I tend to see a lot of familiar faces there.

Recently, I was researching something through the ACORE website and caught a glimpse of someone I thought I knew. The picture was in a rotating series of photos, so I had a few seconds to consider exactly whom I'd seen before the pic returned to the screen. The owner of the face that spoke so poignantly to me? Well, his mug's right in the middle of the above landscape.

Turns out ACORE was promoting this year's policy forum agenda with shots of last year's event. And at last year's event, as you can see, I interviewed Iowa Governor Chet Culver. Apparently, during our conversation about the wind and ethanol industries in his home state, someone snapped a few photos. Nice shots, too.

Notice that I'm eye-to-eye with the Governor? Kind of unusual at 6'4", when interviewing politicians (or anyone outside the NBA, I guess). Turns out Gov. Culver is a fellow Virginia college football alum, though he played in The Big Time at Virginia Tech.

Hokie, Hokie, High.

A VIP Viewer

Day One of the National Energy Summit. The Council on Competitiveness is the host. The Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC is the site. We're broadcasting the entire two-day event live and I'm hosting our coverage.

The man to my left in the above pic is Dr. John Holdren. Officially, he's Special Advisor to The President on Science and Technology and Director of the White House Office on Science and Technology Policy. Unofficially, he's probably the most controversial member of the Obama Green Team. Obviously, I'm pretty amped for this interview.

As we're getting situated for the shoot, I'm running through the details with Dr. Holdren, explaining that our viewers are especially well-versed in energy and climate issues. He stops me mid-sentence and says, "I know. I'm one of them."

Yes. Dr. John Holdren, the man who has the President's ear on Sci & Tech issues is a Clean Skies News viewer. Validation is sweet.

You can catch our coverage and interviews with some of the major players from both the private and public sectors at CleanSkies.com.

The Climate of Congress

Cash For Clunkers is in the rearview mirror. Health Care Reform is looming large on the horizon. And Climate Legislation is, um...Well, where exactly on the legislative map is the long-promised Senate cap-&-trade bill?

I can't help but think of the current Congressional recess as something of a Christmas Break for lawmakers. One year, before I left junior high, our school's Powers That Be decided mid-term exams would be held after Christmas vacation. All the better to study during those two-weeks of free time, right? The result was papers and tests before the holiday, exams immediately afterward, and a foreboding feeling every minute in between (when we weren't watching the respective Thermo Misers doing their annually televised pagan dances).

That's where members of Congress seem to be right now. They're tucked away in their home districts with relatively safe votes on the CARS Program in their back pockets, but Big Things are lying ahead almost always in the backs of their minds. And, naturally, much of the country is wondering if Climate Legislation is indeed A Big Thing this year.

I know, I know...a long preamble to what was a promised delivery, my interview with Kenneth Green on The Energy Report. He co-authored a Washington Post op-ed on the likelihood that the Senate will take up a climate bill this fall and whether it will have enough momentum to pass. And, surprisingly enough from a conservative think tank, Ken and fellow AEI scholar Steven Hayward both see the merit in one Senate Democrat's mostly overlooked climate proposal.

By the way, not only is Ken an enviro scientist who has worked with the UN's IPCC, he's also a Valley Guy. Yep, straight from the San Fernando Valley. Not that the former UCLA Bruin has any Val-Gal accent.

And since I did make the reference, is now a good time to take nominees for the lawmakers who most resemble the Heat and Cold Misers? I mean, we do have another two weeks before Washington awakens.

That'll Do, Prez. That'll Do.

Wow, what a terrible reference to James Cromwell's most famous movie line, I apologize. The dialogue from Babe actually reads, "That'll do, pig, That'll do."

You remember, right? He plays Arthur Hoggett, the farmer?

C'mon, he earned an Academy Award nomination for the role!

If you have a child younger than 15, surely you've seen the film.

Anyway, I unearthed these pictures of James Cromwell from his not-too-recent visit to the Clean Skies News studios. He's teaming up with the group Beyond Nuclear to advocate against a US nuclear generation build-out, against uranium mining, and against any kind of weapons proliferation. You can catch Susan's entire interview with Cromwell on The Energy Report. Their conversation starts about 13 minutes into the newscast.

Yeah, he's pushing an unabashedly liberal series of causes. But whether you agree or not, Cromwell does seem to have a good grasp of the relevant talking points and is patient enough to state his case with civility. That's not necessarily standard when you consider some of the other issues advocates from Hollywood who hit The Hill here in Washington.

Utterly unrelated to the energy conversation at hand though it may be, James Cromwell couldn't have been nicer. He posed for pics with almost everyone in our newsroom (maybe two dozen photos). He talked about life as a nearly 6'6" actor (bigger challenge than you might think). He endured my remark that I'd just watched his scene from Revenge of the Nerds on TV a few nights earlier ("I've got the old cruise control set at 35."). I did, however, manage to refrain from telling him how strong his performance was in L.A. Confidential.

And if you do watch the first report (on domestic transmission issues) from that edition of The Energy Report, you'll get a look at a decidedly now-outdated haircut of mine. I think Long Duk Dong put it best in Sixteen Candles: "Flat?"

I guess I need to end this post with another cinematic apology, since I couldn't get the actual Gedde Watanabe quote. At least that one is from the same scene.

Complaints From the Car Coach

Recognize her? Not even given the fact that she's behind the wheel? OK, well, I probably wouldn't have either. But I bet you know her voice.

Lauren Fix is The Car Coach. She's online, on the radio, and all over cable these days talking about Cash For Clunkers. Suffice it to say she's not a fan.

This morning I talked to Lauren during The Energy Report and we had the chance to really dig deep into some of the complaints about the CARS program. From the Right: new car buyers are choosing Detroit's vehicles only 45% of the time so far. From the Left: an average of 61% better fuel efficiency between trade-ins and new vehicles isn't enough. And from Lauren: we're trashing car parts that could be put back on the market.

Despite The Car Coach's protestations, President Obama signed the funding extension bill this morning. The Administration says that means that roughly 14 hours after the Senate passed the $2-billion measure, Clunkers now has enough money to run through Labor Day. Then again, the government predicted that the original $1-billion in funding would last until November.

Lauren also dropped another tidbit, one that had me sputtering to get more specific information out of her. You can see what she said in our interview here, at CleanSkies.com.

A "General" Climate Discussion

Before we started our interview for this weekend's edition of Clean Skies Sunday, I talked with Sen. John Warner(R-VA) about how he'd like me to introduce him.

"The leading Republican voice on climate issues?" I asked.

Nope. That gave him too much credit, he said.

"How about, One of the leading Republican voices on climate issues?"

Not that either. Might upset his former Senate colleagues.

"OK," I nodded. "Let's go with, One of the leading Republican voices on climate legislation. Fair enough?"

Given that he sponsored two Senate climate bills during his final three years in office, including the only climate bill to pass out of committee, Senator Warner acquiesced. But only on objective grounds.

Great conversation with him about global warming's potential effects on the military, the immediate future of climate legislation, and his current work with the Pew Environment Center. The whole thing is here at CleanSkies.com.

As for this picture, it's a snapshot of three Generals. Washington & Lee University Generals. From left: me (W&L Class of 1991), our photojournalist/director Ian McAllister (W&L Class of 2002), Sen. Warner (W&L Class of 1949).

The West Is The Best

Those accolades for The West, specifically California in this case, are less about geography than accomplishment in this mention.

I just finished moderating two of the four panels at the Western Energy Summit in Mountain View, just outside San Jose. That's my tiny image in the middle of the head table, black suit, surrounded by great minds and impressive titles. One of the main themes at the summit,"California clean-tech research rocks!" That's my paraphrasing at work and not the official session title, as you might guess. In any event, it's difficult to argue against relevant accomplishments of the California public and private sectors.

(here's a link to the Western Energy Summit agenda)

Among the panelists during my two sessions, the directors of the Lawrence Berkeley, Lawrence Livermore, Pacific Northwest, and Sandia National Laboratories. Also on hand, additional big guns from NREL, Berkeley, and Livermore. Remember, this is the atmosphere in which Steven Chu not only emerged to become Energy Secretary but also where he won his Nobel Prize. Impressive advancements seem to abound at the labs, though much of the accomplishments fly under the radar. Perhaps that's preferable for the work horses behind the glass.

(links for Lawrence Berkeley and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories)

During my sessions, we found some clear areas of consent among these participants. Whether you compare it to The Manhattan Project or The Apollo Project, the clean energy revolution carries great urgency and gravitas. Secretary Chu is the right kind of leader to give the labs what they need to rise to the energy and environmental challenges we're now facing. One of our greatest resources, and one that is easy to take for granted, lies within the talent and potential of U.S. students. Indeed.

We have a few of my interviews with summit panelists up right now on our website, with more discussion to follow. Also, by August 3rd we should have both of the panels I moderated available in their entirety. You can find everything at CleanSkies.com.

If you didn't recognize it, the inspiration for the title of this particular post comes from "The End" by The Doors. Man, it's astounding to me that Jim Morrison's lyrics about the blessings of The West and the seven-mile snake were published 42 years ago. Seems like far less to me, but then again my generation's mass introduction to The Doors came from Val Kilmer playing The Lizard King in the 1991 Oliver Stone movie.

Val's hair was perfect for the part.