The Earth-Saving Story You Probably Missed

It's not an earth-shattering story, with or without the Daily Show animation. Instead it may be an earth-saving story. It was Tuesday's most important story, and just about everybody missed it.

The Global Climate Summit of five U.S. governors convened in California, and got an immediate surprise: a taped video statement by the President-Elect. The San Francisco Chronicle put it this way: In his first speech on global warming since winning the election, President-elect Barack Obama promised Tuesday to set stringent limits on greenhouse gases, saying the need is too urgent for delay.

Many observers had expected Obama to avoid tackling such a complex, contentious issue early in his administration. But in videotaped comments to the Governors' Global Climate Summit in Beverly Hills on Tuesday, he called for immediate action.

"Now is the time to confront this challenge once and for all," Obama said. "Delay is no longer an option. Denial is no longer an acceptable response. The stakes are too high, the consequences too serious." He repeated his campaign promise to create a system that limits carbon dioxide emissions and forces companies to pay for the right to emit the gas. Using the money collected from that system, Obama plans to invest $15 billion each year in alternative energy. That investment - in solar, wind and nuclear power, as well as advanced coal technology - will create jobs at a time of economic turmoil, he said.

"It will ... help us transform our industries and steer our country out of this economic crisis by generating 5 million new green jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced," Obama said.

Many people listening to Obama's speech Tuesday had waited years to hear it."

There was yet another indication Tuesday that the Obama administration is going to take the Climate Crisis seriously and urgently: it was reported that Obama will appoint Peter Orszag as his Budget Director. Orszag, currently the budget director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, will be a crucial voice in setting budget priorities. But he is not just a numbers man. He has expertise on several crucial issues, including health care and the Climate Crisis.

Orszag lectured recently on climate change at Wellesley College. (His slides are posted on his blog--did he borrow any from Al?) For those who predict--or worry--that faced with looming deficits, Obama won't invest aggressively in addressing the Climate Crisis and starting work on a Green Deal economy, here are Orszag's words from this lecture: "Reducing the risks associated with climate change requires trading off up-front costs in exchange for long-term benefits." The lecture goes on to suggest ideas for reducing short-term costs, without sacrificing long-term benefits. But stating the principle first is very important.