Who Will Obama Choose for Important Environmental Cabinet Posts?

During these 8 long years of George W. Bush’s presidency, we’ve had little trust in the Environmental Protection Agency to do their job. Since Bush has aggressively pushed his business-first agenda and put undue influence on the EPA in their decision-making process, the agency has become little more than a front, allowing Bush and Co. to trample all over human and environmental health so corporations can pad their bank accounts even more.

In these last few months before he’s forced to vacate the White House, Bush is on the warpath along with his puppet-like EPA chief Stephen Johnson to push through as many business-friendly measures as possible. He has eased pollution restrictions on factory farms, making it easier for factory farm operations to contaminate drinking water supplies with huge amounts of waste. He has rushed to ease endangered species laws so that building projects can go forward despite encroaching upon the habitats of threatened animals.  And, quietly, amidst the excitement and chaos of the election, Bush is doing all he can to allow power plants to operate near national parks and wilderness areas.

In an Obama administration, things will undoubtedly change – in a monumental way. No longer will we shake our heads in anger and frustration over yet another EPA decision that allows businesses to get away with polluting the earth, destroying ecosystems and threatening species. Anyone Obama chooses will automatically be more effective than Jones, simply because Obama actually cares about the environment. But Obama has an opportunity here to choose a true environmental leader – someone who will take the job of protecting the environment seriously.

One prominent name that’s been bandied about as of late is Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said to be Obama’s first choice. Kennedy is an environmental lawyer and has long worked toward cleaning up the water supply in New York City. The outdoorsman’s obvious personal dedication makes him a popular choice among environmentalists, especially given his experience fighting anti-environment legislation in Congress in 1995 and 1996.

Lisa Jackson has also been mentioned as a possibility. Jackson, New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner, has been tapped to co-chair Obama’s transition group overseeing the EPA. That puts her on the shortlist to be named administrator, according to anonymous sources.  Jackson was recently appointed Chief of Staff to New Jersey governor Jon Corzine, the first African-American to serve in that position in the state.

For Secretary of the Interior, The Huffington Post has speculated that Democratic congressmen Norm Dicks of Washington and George Miller of California could be in the running. The Interior Department is yet another federal agency that has been plagued by appointees that saw industry profits as more important than conservation.

Rep. Miller is a member of the Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus as well as the House Natural Resources Committee, and has a long history of supporting America’s wildlife and public land systems. Rep. Dicks is also a member of the Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus and is chairman of the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee. He recently won the 2008 Ansel Adams Conservation Award from the Wilderness Society, mostly for his efforts to increase budgets for public land systems.

Though some have mentioned Democrat Tony Knowles – the man who lost the governorship of Alaska to Sarah Palin – as a possibility, his support for drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge makes him less than palatable.

Grist has additional possibilities for both EPA Administrator and Secretary of the Interior as well as top names for Secretary of Energy, Secretary of Agriculture and possible new position ‘Climate Change Czar’. To get the names on their list, Grist spoke to campaign advisors, academics, nonprofit conservation advocates, lobbyists and others who might have the low-down.

Though Obama has been far quicker to begin the process of choosing his staff than previous presidents, don’t expect a definite appointment too soon. Officials are uncertain when Obama will be making a selection.

Whether it’s tomorrow or next month, what a relief it is to know that the environment will once again be in capable, empathetic hands.

Link [The Huffington Post] + [Politico] + [NJ.com] + [Grist]

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