Steven Chu has been picked by U.S. President-Elect Barack Obama for Energy Secretary. Barack Obama is adding another experienced member to his growing roster of competent officials.
Chu was appointed as the director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in 2004 and he was only 49 when he shared the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics for codeveloping ways to cool and trap atoms using lasers.
The Nobel winning phsyicist has long spoke out about the need to combat climate change. Here are some of Chu’s past statements on energy issues.
Steven Chu will be the man to push for the development of alternative energy. In this 2005 interview with UC Berkeley, he spoke about the possibilites of biofuel and nuclear power. The Nobel Laurette is also expected to reform existing regulatory standards which are enforced by the Department of Energy.
Now, espousing theories is one thing… changing mindsets, justifying costs and benefits, formulating theories into clear policies, are easier said than done, so I expect this Energy Secretary appointment to be among the toughest job in Obama’s administration.
In an imminent energy crisis where extracting fossil fuels becoming increasingly challenging while demand continue to spike, the policies set forth will have far reaching implications for global economies, businesses and individuals.
The Straits Time Index was down 15.57 points to close at 2860.51 Tuesday, a relatively muted response (fortunately) amid regional markets turbulence.
Houston, the fossil fuel capital of America, is setting the right examples by converting to wind power. On July 1, 