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Hopefully the US economy will be strengthened from the increased government spending included in the Economic Stimulus Bill, but it is important to look beyond our borders whenever debt is incurred.

Anyone responsible for their personal finances knows the burden of debt, and world leaders are cautioning Obama on borrowing more money to fund the Economic Stimulus Bill. Italy’s finance minister Giulio Tremont (Italy is one of the most indebted countries in Europe) warned, “If the problem is an excess of debt, the cure is not adding more debt, whether that debt is public or private.”  So what country will benefit from the increase of US debt incurred by the Economic Stimulus Bill?

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Throughout his presidency, a time in which China entered the WTO, and subsequent philanthropic involvement in China, Clinton has enjoyed a popularity that, by my completely unscientific measure, exceeds just about any other American or American leader since Nixon.

This may explain, in part, how Hillary earned a favorable reputation in China a while back. I have encountered countless cabbies whose thumbs up for “xi-la-li” (Hillary) came after their thumbs up for “ke-lun-dun” (Bill Clinton). [Full disclosure: not directly after; that spot is usually reserved for "Le-wen-si-ji", another American who enjoys tongue-in-cheek popularity in China.] At the beginning of the primaries, it seemed that China might be pulling for a Clinton victory; but warm feelings turned sour when Clinton’s stance on China became increasingly critical.

We will soon find out how China will receive Clinton in her new position as Secretary of State, since she has just announced her first trip to Asia, with China scheduled to be a critical stopoff. What’s more, Clinton aides have identified energy and climate change as two issues that will be at the top of her agenda.

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There will be many firsts during the course of Tuesday’s Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama, but mentioning the environment in the inaugural address will not be one of them: though pretty darn close.

[Update: While President Obama did not use the actual word "environment", he spoke both directly and indirectly about the environment more so than any of his predecessors. See those references.]

Past presidents like Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S Truman and Calvin Coolidge have referred to the development and wise use of our “natural resources.”  The language in these earlier environmental references was infused with the themes of conservation and preservation as opposed to pollution and ecological balance.

Conspicuously absent throughout the history of inaugural addresses have been allusions to the major energy and environmental issues of the time. In fact, only two presidents in this country’s history have even mentioned the word “environment” in this context; and they each used both of their opportunities.

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Video source: NPR

Speaking via satellite because he had a prior engagement preventing his attendance, Senator Obama received some of the loudest and most sustained applause of the week, thus far. And as compared to the reception given to his Republican opponent, John McCain, who opened the morning session, the difference was striking.

Obama made three specific commitments. One of Senator Obama’s commitments, quoted directly below, dealt directly with energy and climate. While the climate/energy commitment from made by Obama

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The event, which is being held at the Sheraton New York to coincide with the opening of the UN General Assembly, was already the site of impressive amounts of security - for Heads of State and foreign dignitaries - saw several additional steps taken in and around the Sheraton New York to protect Republican Senator McCain and his entourage. McCain’s entourage included Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, but not surprisingly, neither Senator McCain nor Governor Palin were made available to the press for questions.

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Addressing attendees at the Clinton Global Initiative, Gore called on the young people in the United States to reject new coal-fired power plants. “It’s time for civil disobedience to stop the construction of new coal plants,” implored the former Vice-President.

After introductory remarks by former President Bill Clinton, Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg, and cyclist Lance Armstrong, Al Gore launched a familiar-sounding polemic against carbon-based fuels with an intensified focus on the dishonest - and perhaps illegal - actions of the “carbon lobby.” Al Gore joined the discussion begun by the high-profile collection of heads of state, corporate leaders, and one very well-behaved rockstar/activist.

Joining Clinton on stage was former Vice-President Al Gore; the Queen of Jordan Rania Al-Abdullah; the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Coca-Cola, E. Neville Isdell; the President of Liberia, Ellent Johnson-Sirleaf, and Bono.

Gore takes on big carbon

Gore said for the carbon lobby to be trying to convince their stockholders that renewable energy is risky business and that climate change is a hoax, they are purporting a type of stock fraud that should be addressed by attorneys general across the country.

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“This project comes at exactly the right time as Americans face soaring energy prices and look to meet rising electricity demand with green energy sources. The ADAGE biopower facilities will respond to our nation’s need for new baseload energy alternatives,” said Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration the total installed capacity of wood biomass power generation is 6,000 megawatts, said Clinton. That figure could easily be doubled over the next 10 years.

AREVA is the leading U.S. nuclear vendor and a key player in the electricity transmission and distribution sector. Duke Energy is one the largest electric utilities in the country. Duke supplies and delivers electricity to approximately 4 million U.S. customers across the Mid-Adlantic and Mid-West.

>>For more updates from CGI, subscribe to my Twitterfeed at @ecopolitologist, where I will be posting more commitments and news items as they develop.

Image credit: Andrew Ciscel via flickr under a Creative Commons License

You wouldn’t necessarily expect Bill Clinton and the Democratic party to have very much in common with oilman and 2004 “Swift Boat” funder T. Boone Pickens (who helped finance the ads that slighted John Kerry’s service in Vietnam during the last presidential election), but these are strange times we live in.

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In a stunning reversal of direction, the Bush administration has officially requested a new addition to the Endangered Species list. What threatened species could elicit this drastic change of course for the Bush Administration? It is, of course, the elusive Climate Change Skeptic (dubium mundus fervesco), whose habitat is being threatened by rational thinking, increased rates of deforestation, low gas-mileage standards, and the abundance of “cheap” coal. The stunning news comes just after a story in the Washington Post reported that the current administration has never requested that an animal be protected by the Endangered Species Act. Of the current administration’s 59 listed species, none of them were requested by the administration themselves.

But the Bush administration is not alone in wanting to protect such skeptics as Fred Singer and Patrick Michaels, in fear that the breed may die out completely in the coming years. Fortunately, the skeptics have received significant funding from coal and oil companies, including ExxonMobil.

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