James Hansen, head of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and his wife, Anniek, wrote a letter in late December to President-elect Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle.  They wrote the letter as fellow parents, "concerned about the Earth that will be inherited by our children, grandchildren, and those yet to be born".

President-elect Obama's appointment for Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu, has been widely applauded, as have Obama's choices for sub-cabinet positions related to science in general and climate change in particular.  Since Dec. 20, when Obama made the announcement that Chu would be Secretary of Energy; John Holdren would be Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; and Jane Lubchenco would be the new head of NOAA, people have been reassured that Obama's administration would 1) take the science on climate change seriously, 2) make use of innovative technology and collaborative approaches and 3) act quickly.

Most of us know that the Arctic summer sea ice is melting at a record pace.  A group of international climate change scientists has written a paper for Geophysical Research Letters that may explain the change in speed - a significant change in the atmospheric circulation pattern in the Arctic that has occurred since 2001.  Here's what the German newspaper, Der Spiegel, says about it:

The Northwest may not be getting any seats on the Obama Cabinet but our local Congresscritters are looking to obtain stimulus package money for a huge new model project to build a new, green power grid along the Seattle - Portland corridor. 

Creating a modern grid that allows the population centers to use alternative energy is at the top of the list for all those working against time to solve the climate change crisis. 

McClatchy Newspapers has an article up describing the opportunity and the problem:

The governors of the 19 states in the Western Governors Association met this last week and outlined the steps they believe the new administration should take in the first 100 days to address climate change and energy issues.

According to an AP article, the WGA is recommending that the new administration:

Five forward-looking, large corporations, Nike, Starbucks, Levi Strauss, Sun Microsystems and Timberland, are the founding members of BICEP (Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy), which has been put together by CERES, a  coalition of investors, environmental and public interest organizations.

Last week, these leading corporations said that they want Congress to quickly pass strong legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, promote energy efficiency and invest in a clean energy economy.  They want to add a new voice to the debate on energy as an alternative to the energy extractors, producers and major users.  Their commitment is "to a pathway that will slow, stop and reverse the growth of U.S. emissions".