Hill Heat: Steven Chu, Obama's Choice For Secretary Of EnergyScience Policy Legislation Actiontag:www.hillheat.com,2005:TypoTypo2008-12-11T11:40:05-05:00Wonk Roomurn:uuid:c9053997-203f-4e7b-8d5e-f3b35de0e15b2008-12-11T11:29:00-05:002008-12-11T11:40:05-05:00Steven Chu, Obama's Choice For Secretary Of Energy<p><i>From the <a href='http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2008/12/10/steven-chu-new-energy/'>Wonk Room</a>.</i></p>
<p><img src='http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/stevenchu_crop.PNG' alt='Steven Chu' style='float:right;margin-left:10px' />President-elect Barack Obama’s <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aW4skNSizBIo&refer=home">reported selection of Dr. Steven Chu</a> as Secretary of Energy is a bold stroke to set the nation on the path to a clean energy economy. Chu, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, is the sixth director of the <a href="http://www.lbl.gov/LBL-PID/LBL-Overview.html">Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory</a>, a Department of Energy-funded basic science research institution managed by the University of California. After moving to Berkeley Lab from Stanford University in 2004, Chu “has emerged internationally to champion science as <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/03/05/MNG18OFHF41.DTL">society’s best defense against climate catastrophe</a>.” As director, Chu has steered the direction of Berkeley Lab to addressing the climate crisis, pushing for breakthrough research in energy efficiency, solar energy, and biofuels technology.</p>
<p>At Berkeley Lab, Chu has won broad praise as an effective and inspirational leader. “When he was first here, he started giving <a href="http://www.lbl.gov/Publications/Director/media.html">talks about energy and production of energy</a>,” Bob Jacobsen, a senior scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley Lab, told the San Francisco Chronicle in 2007. “He didn’t just present a problem. He told us what we could do. It was an energizing thing to see. <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/03/05/MNG18OFHF41.DTL">He’s not a manager, he’s a leader</a>.” In an interview with the Wonk Room, <a href="http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2008/10/20/california-green-economy/">David Roland-Holst</a>, an economist at the Center for Energy, Resources and Economic Sustainability at UC Berkeley, described Chu as a “very distinguished researcher” and “an extremely effective manager of cutting edge technology initiatives.” Roland-Holst praised Chu’s work at Lawrence Berkeley, saying “he has succeeded in reconfiguring it for a new generation of sustainable technology R&D, combining world class mainstream science with the latest initiatives in renewable energy and climate adaptation.”</p>
Under Chu’s leadership, Berkeley Lab and other research institutions have founded the <a href="http://www.energybiosciencesinstitute.org/">Energy Biosciences Institute</a> with <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2008/05/05/daily17.html?q=biofuel">$500 million, ten-year grant</a> from energy giant BP, and the <a href="http://www.jbei.org/">Joint BioEnergy Institute</a> with a $125 million grant from the Department of Energy. The BP deal has raised questions and protests about <a href="http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2007-03-23/article/26618?headline=Corporate-Academic-Web-Entangles-UC-BP-Proposal&status=301">private corporations benefiting from public research</a>. At the dedication of <span class="caps">JBEI</span> last Wednesday, Chu “recalled how the nation’s top scientists had <a href="http://newscenter.lbl.gov/feature-stories/2008/12/03/joint-bioenergy-institute-is-officially-dedicated/">rallied in the past to meet critical national needs</a>, citing the development of radar and the atomic bomb during World War II”:
<blockquote>The reality of past threats was apparent to everyone whereas the threat of global climate change is not so immediately apparent. Nonetheless, <strong>this threat has just got to be solved. We can’t fail</strong>. The fact that we have so many brilliant people working on the problem gives me great hope.</blockquote>
<p>Chu’s leadership extends beyond this nation’s boundaries. As one of the 30 members of the <a href="http://www.copenhagenclimatecouncil.com/about-us/councillors/steve-chu.html">Copenhagen Climate Council</a>, Chu is part of an effort to spur the international community to have the “urgency to <a href="http://www.copenhagenclimatecouncil.com/dumpfile.php?file=ZmlsZWJveC8yNQ==&filename=TUFOSUZFU1RPLCBDb3BlbmhhZ2VuIENsaW1hdGUgQ291bmNpbC5wZGY=">establish a global treaty by 2012</a> which is fit for the purpose of limiting global warming to 2ºC,” whose elements “must be agreed” at the Copenhagen summit in December, 2009.</p>
<p>Last year, Dr. Chu co-chaired a report on “the scientific consensus framework for directing global energy development” for the United Nations’ InterAcademy Council. <i>Lighting the Way</i> describes how developing nations can “<a href="http://www.interacademycouncil.net/Object.File/Master/12/167/Lighting%20the%20Way%20IAC%20News%20Release%2022.10.07.pdf">‘leapfrog’ past the wasteful energy trajectory</a> followed by today’s industrialized nations” by emphasizing energy efficiency and renewable energy.</p>
<p>It’s hard to decide if the selection of Dr. Chu is more remarkable for who he is – a Nobel laureate physicist and experienced public-sector administrator – or for who is not. Unlike previous secretaries of energy, he is neither a politician, oil man, military officer, lawyer, nor utility executive. His corporate ties are not to major industrial polluters but to advanced technology corporations like AT&T (where he <a href="http://www.bell-labs.com/user/feature/archives/chu/">began his Nobel-winning research</a>) and Silicon Valley innovator Nvidia (where he sits on the <a href="http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=116466&p=irol-govBoard">board of directors</a>). Chu is a man for the moment, and will be a singular addition to Obama’s Cabinet.</p><p><i>From the <a href='http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2008/12/10/steven-chu-new-energy/'>Wonk Room</a>.</i></p>
<p><img src='http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/stevenchu_crop.PNG' alt='Steven Chu' style='float:right;margin-left:10px' />President-elect Barack Obama’s <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aW4skNSizBIo&refer=home">reported selection of Dr. Steven Chu</a> as Secretary of Energy is a bold stroke to set the nation on the path to a clean energy economy. Chu, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, is the sixth director of the <a href="http://www.lbl.gov/LBL-PID/LBL-Overview.html">Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory</a>, a Department of Energy-funded basic science research institution managed by the University of California. After moving to Berkeley Lab from Stanford University in 2004, Chu “has emerged internationally to champion science as <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/03/05/MNG18OFHF41.DTL">society’s best defense against climate catastrophe</a>.” As director, Chu has steered the direction of Berkeley Lab to addressing the climate crisis, pushing for breakthrough research in energy efficiency, solar energy, and biofuels technology.</p>
<p>At Berkeley Lab, Chu has won broad praise as an effective and inspirational leader. “When he was first here, he started giving <a href="http://www.lbl.gov/Publications/Director/media.html">talks about energy and production of energy</a>,” Bob Jacobsen, a senior scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley Lab, told the San Francisco Chronicle in 2007. “He didn’t just present a problem. He told us what we could do. It was an energizing thing to see. <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/03/05/MNG18OFHF41.DTL">He’s not a manager, he’s a leader</a>.” In an interview with the Wonk Room, <a href="http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2008/10/20/california-green-economy/">David Roland-Holst</a>, an economist at the Center for Energy, Resources and Economic Sustainability at UC Berkeley, described Chu as a “very distinguished researcher” and “an extremely effective manager of cutting edge technology initiatives.” Roland-Holst praised Chu’s work at Lawrence Berkeley, saying “he has succeeded in reconfiguring it for a new generation of sustainable technology R&D, combining world class mainstream science with the latest initiatives in renewable energy and climate adaptation.”</p>
Under Chu’s leadership, Berkeley Lab and other research institutions have founded the <a href="http://www.energybiosciencesinstitute.org/">Energy Biosciences Institute</a> with <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2008/05/05/daily17.html?q=biofuel">$500 million, ten-year grant</a> from energy giant BP, and the <a href="http://www.jbei.org/">Joint BioEnergy Institute</a> with a $125 million grant from the Department of Energy. The BP deal has raised questions and protests about <a href="http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2007-03-23/article/26618?headline=Corporate-Academic-Web-Entangles-UC-BP-Proposal&status=301">private corporations benefiting from public research</a>. At the dedication of <span class="caps">JBEI</span> last Wednesday, Chu “recalled how the nation’s top scientists had <a href="http://newscenter.lbl.gov/feature-stories/2008/12/03/joint-bioenergy-institute-is-officially-dedicated/">rallied in the past to meet critical national needs</a>, citing the development of radar and the atomic bomb during World War II”:
<blockquote>The reality of past threats was apparent to everyone whereas the threat of global climate change is not so immediately apparent. Nonetheless, <strong>this threat has just got to be solved. We can’t fail</strong>. The fact that we have so many brilliant people working on the problem gives me great hope.</blockquote>
<p>Chu’s leadership extends beyond this nation’s boundaries. As one of the 30 members of the <a href="http://www.copenhagenclimatecouncil.com/about-us/councillors/steve-chu.html">Copenhagen Climate Council</a>, Chu is part of an effort to spur the international community to have the “urgency to <a href="http://www.copenhagenclimatecouncil.com/dumpfile.php?file=ZmlsZWJveC8yNQ==&filename=TUFOSUZFU1RPLCBDb3BlbmhhZ2VuIENsaW1hdGUgQ291bmNpbC5wZGY=">establish a global treaty by 2012</a> which is fit for the purpose of limiting global warming to 2ºC,” whose elements “must be agreed” at the Copenhagen summit in December, 2009.</p>
<p>Last year, Dr. Chu co-chaired a report on “the scientific consensus framework for directing global energy development” for the United Nations’ InterAcademy Council. <i>Lighting the Way</i> describes how developing nations can “<a href="http://www.interacademycouncil.net/Object.File/Master/12/167/Lighting%20the%20Way%20IAC%20News%20Release%2022.10.07.pdf">‘leapfrog’ past the wasteful energy trajectory</a> followed by today’s industrialized nations” by emphasizing energy efficiency and renewable energy.</p>
<p>It’s hard to decide if the selection of Dr. Chu is more remarkable for who he is – a Nobel laureate physicist and experienced public-sector administrator – or for who is not. Unlike previous secretaries of energy, he is neither a politician, oil man, military officer, lawyer, nor utility executive. His corporate ties are not to major industrial polluters but to advanced technology corporations like AT&T (where he <a href="http://www.bell-labs.com/user/feature/archives/chu/">began his Nobel-winning research</a>) and Silicon Valley innovator Nvidia (where he sits on the <a href="http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=116466&p=irol-govBoard">board of directors</a>). Chu is a man for the moment, and will be a singular addition to Obama’s Cabinet.</p>http://findportablesolarpower.com/updatesandnewsurn:uuid:731bb04e-7196-432a-90f0-d10b66add2712008-12-16T00:02:23-05:002009-05-13T09:21:38-04:00Comment on Steven Chu, Obama's Choice For Secretary Of Energy by http://findportablesolarpower.com/updatesandnews<p>“Unlike previous secretaries of energy, he is neither a politician, oil man, military officer, lawyer, nor utility executive. His corporate ties are not to major industrial polluters but to advanced technology corporations like AT&T”</p>
<p>That is actually quite encouraging. It is great to see the political field turning around in regards to alternative energy.</p>