Well, sometimes reacting to breaking RUMINT (rumors intelligence) can put one out on a limb ... and sometimes the limb breaks. Thus,my reporting that Dan Kammen would be one of three appointees into the Department of Energy was wrong. Have to wonder when and where Dan will end up in the Administration (perhaps advisory boards), but he won't be the Assistant Secretary of Energy for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) in the Department of Energy.
This might be the single most important Assistant Secretary position in the entire Obama Administration. And, consider its import and the need to have someone who can truly hit the ground running, President Obama and Secretary Chu went with someone even stronger for the position (at this time) than Dan: Cathy Zoi.
Cathy's career achievements, to date, certainly lay the groundwork for EERE. She, for example, implemented the Energy Star program while at the Environmental Protection Agency. She then moved to the Chief of Staff in the White House Office on Environmental Policy in the Clinton-Gore Administration, where she managed the staff working on environmental and energy issues. From the White House, she moved to Australia, where she held both non-profit and business positions in global warming and energy arenas. In February 2007, he became the founding CEO of the ACP.
Coming from heading the Alliance for Climate Protection, Cathy comes to the table with a long record of experience in both the workings of government and in the realms of environmental and energy policy. Thus, like David Sandalow, she enters the Department in a very strong position to be able to hit the ground running in bureaucratic and substantive terms. Thus, she will be able to "work" the (complicated, messy, and difficult) system.
From her HuffPost last year
The science, the economic pressures and our national security concerns demand swift, concerted action. The best climate scientists tell us we must make rapid progress to turn the corner on global carbon emissions or the ecological consequences will be irreversible.
The solutions are available now -- there are no technology or material impediments. Failing to move swiftly will deprive the U.S. economy of earnings from one of the fastest growing technology sectors in the world.
We've done this before. We mobilized the auto industry in 12 months to service the hardware needs of WWII. The Marshall Plan to reconstruct Europe was executed in four years. And as Vice President Gore pointed out, we reached the moon in eight years, not ten.
We can do this. With support from the American people and leadership from elected officials, America can accept the challenge of building a safe, secure and sustainable energy future.
In addition, Cathy is like many others entering the Obama Administration. Like a Sandalow ... Van Jones ... and others, Cathy is articulate, has substantive knowledge and experience, and speaks with passion. She will be able to manage and lead EERE -- and speak powerfully to audiences, whether internal DOE staff, other agencies, state & local governments, businesses, community groups, the general public, ...
For a perspective on Cathy's thinking and speaking abilities, here are two pieces from the 2008 Aspen Environment Forum.
Here is something more unusual but which she is absolutely right on, watch her merged version of the job corps and the military starting about 2 & 1/2 minutes in ...
[Note that the UK plan for street by street, house by house energy audits has some similarity to this concept.]
Sigh ...
Thus, mea culpa to Dan, Cathy, and readers for getting this wrong.
Yeah ...
But, it is reasonably nice to get something wrong and still be able to report good news while admitting the error.