Obama's Big Speech: Will Energy and the Environment Make History?

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President-elect Barack Obama's inaugural address maintained its veil of secrecy, despite a few vague references to "a new era of responsibility" offered up by close aides over the weekend. But with the long-awaited speech less than an hour away, what are the chances it will reflect candidate Obama's emphasis on reinventing America's energy mix?

President-elect Barack Obama’s inaugural address maintained its veil of secrecy, despite a few vague references to “a new era of responsibility” offered up by close aides over the weekend. But with the long-awaited speech less than an hour away, what are the chances it will reflect candidate Obama’s emphasis on reinventing America’s energy mix?

Sure, inaugural addresses usually veer toward the general, such as FDR’s banishment of fear, or Ronald Reagan’s formulation that “government is the problem.” But they can also zero in on the country’s long-term existential challenges. Just as John F. Kennedy’s inaugural was dominated by Cold War fears and challenges that threatened America’s place in the world, if not its survival, Barack Obama’s speech will come at a time when energy and environmental concerns have barged into the White House in a way they never have before.

The thrust of Mr. Obama’s energy and environmental message during the campaign and the transition was two-fold: The U.S. needs urgent and aggressive action to combat global warming, and changing the way America makes and uses energy will be a huge part of meeting that challenge. The energy and environment team he’s assembled in the meantime did nothing to belie that message.

If energy and the environment do get much play in the inaugural address, and if Al Gore really does cast the biggest shadow over the incoming administration, it might be worth recalling a famous line from that would-be president:

We’re borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the planet. Every bit of that’s got to change.

Article Continues: http://blogs.wsj.com/environmentalcapital/2009/01/20/obamas-big-speech-will-energy-and-the-environment-make-history/