Thursday, November 13, 2008

Dan Esty as EPA Administrator?

I missed it, but back on October 29 Grist was reporting Cheshire's own Dan Esty as a possible EPA Administrator in an Obama Administration. Pretty cool, I think. The piece notes:

A top energy advisor for the Obama campaign, Dan Esty would bring both EPA experience and academic policy chops. He served in George H.W. Bush's EPA, helping to craft the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act and the environmental provisions of NAFTA... "He has a reputation as a moderate. But if you want someone who could rally the environmental troops, he could do that."

And now, perhaps jumping the gun, Yale Daily News is reporting:

Dan Esty LAW ’86, a professor at the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, has been named to the transition team of President-elect Barack Obama...

And they also mention the reason that I think he would be a great pick by President-elect Obama:

“Dan Esty is one of the most wide-ranging faculty members at the school,” FES senior lecturer Fred Strebeigh ’74 said, adding that Esty has helped environmentalists move beyond “any notion that advancing the environment and advancing the economy should be even conceivably at odds.”

As I've figured out, in no small way from Dan's book Green to Gold, business and the environment can usually have a mutually beneficial relationship - it may just not be apparent at first glance.

Btw, if you read the Grist piece you'll see another top contender for the EPA post - Kathleen McGinty. I don't think I've mentioned her name here before, but I have mentioned an encounter with her at the energy conference I attended back in March. I hope Dan gets the job, but she's no slouch. She's extremely impressive - knowledgable, articulate and obviously passionate about energy and the environment. All great qualities IMO.

Tim White

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I suspect the real Obama agenda will be "Green to Red". We kill our private sector economy to appease some alarmist scientists.

Don;t worry, Dan and Lizzy will come by every winter to make sure you don't have your heat above 65; more likely, all our thermostats will be centrally regulated; just like the rest of our lives

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

They gave $4,600 to the Obama campaign. I guess that's how one gets thos jobs.

Hopefully, he will go to Washington and take Lizzy with him.

Anonymous said...

More sour grapes from the GOP! You just can't stand talented people!

Anonymous said...
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Schultz said...

I met Dan for the first time at an event in Pittsburgh today. While he is on the transition team from what he told me it doesn't sound like he is likely to go back to Washington anytime soon. I heard the pick is going to be McGinty.

Anonymous said...

ahhh... that's just cuz you're from PA!

Kidding.

I attended a very small event she moderated at the WIREC conference back in March (Pennsylvania: The State of Innovation - or something like that). She's extremely impressive IMO. I'm really cheering on Dan (over her) because of the hometown thing.

Regardless, they're both great choices as they recognize the value of protecting the environment, but also see the value of getting the buy-in from business.

Anonymous said...

And thanks for the update.