Could Obama Appoint a Climate Czar? By Deborah Zabarenko, Reuters, November 6, 2008. "U.S. environmental groups see Barack Obama's presidential victory as a chance to undo the Bush legacy on global warming, and one idea they are discussing is the possibility of a White House 'climate czar.' Members of the environmental community in and around Washington say such a post could oversee various government agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Interior Department, to focus on tackling global warming and fostering clean energy to jump-start the flagging economy... They said this could be part of a White House special council on energy and environment, analogous to the National Security Council... 'What Obama understands is that dealing with the transition to a new energy economy is the centerpiece for getting the economy moving again,' said Alden Meyer, director of strategy and policy at the Union of Concerned Scientists. Meyer said this needs to be approached in a strategic and integrated way. 'I think they need to make clear who's running the show on these issues,' Meyer. 'It's got to be someone who has the trust and ear of the president, someone who's positioned in the White House and someone who has the authority to get the agencies to cooperate on running the agenda. That's a heavy lift.'"
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