Obama Announces Energy And Environmental Staff, Including Nobel Prize Winning Chu

(Photo from the Associated Press)Expect Steven Chu to play a vital role in the journey towards clean energy

Happiness around in the Rational Online Network today, in regards to Barack Obama's choices for his energy and environmental chiefs, as the "do the opposite of Bush" process continues.

About the only one with a real mixed history is Lisa Jackson, who was head of the Environmental Protection Agency. Jackson, who is a Cheif of Staff to Jon Corzine in New Jersey, has her slip ups it seems:

But Jackson's critics, including a senior scientist who quit her department in frustration, say she has been too close to industry, withheld information from the public and fallen well short of the pledge she made when taking office in February 2006 to fix the state's beleaguered toxic waste program.

"The most important thing we are doing is developing a new ranking system to prioritize sites so that we focus our resources on the worst cases, those that present the greatest risk to public health and the environment," said Jackson in state senate testimony (PDF) in October 2006.

But two years into Jackson’s tenure, the new system for cleaning up New Jersey's 16,000 abandoned toxic waste sites still hasn't been deployed.

"She identified this as her highest priority, but she never followed through," says Jeff Ruch, executive director of the Washington D.C.-based Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, or PEER. "This failure to perform risk-based ranking for determining cleanup priorities has contributed to the belated discovery of contaminated schools and day care centers."

Nevertheless, there was no outrage from anyone at all. And among the picks, none was more well received by the man in thephoto with Obama at the top of the thread, Steven Chu. One of the smartest guys in the country for sure, the Noble-Prize winner has been lauded by many, including Think Progress' Brad Johnson:

President-elect Barack Obama’s reported selection of Dr. Steven Chu 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 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 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 society’s best defense against climate catastrophe.” 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.

And the Chinese press are certainly happy with the selection of Chu by Obama:

China's media are cheering President-elect Barack Obama's pick of Chinese-American Steven Chu for the post of U.S. energy secretary, saying it bodes well for future cooperation between the two countries.

If he can help relations between the U.S. and China will just one move, well, no wonder why his approval rating is real, REAL, high right now.