No Indication That Carol Browner's Climate & Energy Job Will Be Filled Once She's Gone

[hatrack]

It was announced Monday night that Carol Browner, the White House’s coordinator for energy and climate change policy, will soon be leaving her gig, and there are no indications that there will be a successor to the position.

Translation: Any serious effort at combating greenhouse gas emissions (i.e. global warming) is dead for the next two years.

As President Obama continues to pivot to the center as the second half of his first term in office officially begins tonight, the jettisoning of Browner, a Florida native, has to be interpreted as good news by all those big business interests the president is interested in currying favor with now. Don’t think so? Check out this quote from a Washington Post story published last night:

"Scott Segal, an energy expert at the law and lobbying firm Bracewell & Giuliani, welcomed her leaving. 'Carol Browner was a passionate contributor to a strong White House commitment to environmental policy,' Segal said. 'Her departure may be part of a legitimate effort to pay careful attention to addressing some of the real regulatory obstacles in the way of job creation in the United States.' Bracewell & Giuliani has been retained by many of the nation’s biggest coal mining, utility and oil refining companies."

EDIT

http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/dailyloaf/2011/01/25/mission-not-accomplished-on-climate-change-carol-browner-departs-the-white-house/

[pscot]

1. Any serious effort at GHG mitigation

was doomed on November 3rd. Browner probably said "Fuck it. Who needs this shit." Or words to that effect. It probably makes no difference whether the job is filled or not.

[joshcryer]

4. Earlier than that, with the cold winters and the crappy media, and a global recession.

GHGs are the furthest thing from anyones minds. Really, we won't do anything in two years and it'll likely be pushed off until the end of Obama's second term before we try to do anything (assuming the best, of course). Whatever is done it'll be at most efficiency standards, and in the end there won't be significant abatement.

[Still a Democrat]

2. "Browner's departure did not signal a lessening of the admin's commitment to the environment"

...

A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't allowed to discuss the issue publicly, insisted that Browner's departure did not signal a lessening of the administration's commitment to the environment, and he said the president would make announcements during his State of the Union speech Tuesday evening that would, in fact, underscore it.

...

environmentalists criticized her harshly for backing expanded offshore drilling before the Deepwater Horizon disaster and her office's rosy takes on its effects.

...

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/sc-dc-0126-carol-browner-20110125,0,6312047.story

[joshcryer]

3. "Any serious effort at combating greenhouse gas emissions is dead for the next two years."

No fucking shit.

Cancun was a success, though, don't be misled!

[Nihil]

5. Overt grave-dancing from the corporate scum-suckers ...

> "Scott Segal, an energy expert at the law and lobbying firm Bracewell & Giuliani,
> welcomed her leaving. 'Carol Browner was a passionate contributor to a strong
> White House commitment to environmental policy,' Segal said. 'Her departure may
> be part of a legitimate effort to pay careful attention to addressing some of the
> real regulatory obstacles in the way of job creation in the United States.'
> Bracewell & Giuliani has been retained by many of the nation’s biggest coal mining,
> utility and oil refining companies."

Not even a hint of distraction, no pretence at "bipartisan cooperation", just a
straight "F*ck you - we're in the money!" as Obama gives in to yet another corporate
sponsor.