Designing Obama from mas / menos on Vimeo.

Barack Obama’s campaign, which led to his election last year, was groundbreaking for many of the obvious reasons. One element that is sometimes overlooked is the visual imagery crafted by the campaign. Obama created a movement among many designers and artists inspired by his message of hope. His Design Director, Scott Thomas, harvested that power and theme. Everything, from the Obama logo to his website to his consistent typeface, reinforced the candidate’s message.

Designing Obama, a new book, will showcase both official and unofficial designs and images from across the country. It also promises to examine how design was used in campaign. The video above has me excited for the release.

The U.S. Renewable Energy Group and Cielo Wind Power have entered into a joint venture agreement with China’s Shenyang Power Group to build a 600 megawatt wind farm across 36,000 acres in West Texas. This is the first time Chinese and U.S. entities have agreed to jointly develop a utility-scale wind power project.

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Yesterday I wrote about some of the absurd signs appearing at anti-Obama gatherings across the country. This week’s New York Magazine takes a more in-depth look at some of the movements, from Tea Parties to birthers, that are collectively forming a movement that is becoming more than just fringe.

The writer, Philip Weiss, described the signs at a recent Scranton rally as “frightening. Obama with a Hitler mustache. Obama morphed to Heath Ledger’s Joker. Obama, Parasite in Chief. Obama the Muslim, Obama the Marxist. Even Obama the Antichrist: Jesus is the Messiah, not Obama.”

And while these images are frightening they’re not nearly as scary as some of the quotes attributed to protestors in the article. Ignorantly one of them claimed “I do not want a president that bows to the king of Saudi Arabia.” Obama may need to start addressing these nuts, even if conventional wisdom is to stay above the fray. By remaining silent Obama could be fueling the fire. And I don’t want a president that bows to Glenn Beck.

As health care reform is debated in the Congress and the media, more and more protesters are taking to the streets. From town hall meetings to last week’s Tea Party march on Washington, anti-Obama protests are gaining in number and occurrence. While I am thankful that this country promotes free thought and encourages and protects freedom of speech, I am nonetheless saddened by some of the types of signs that have emerged during these gatherings.

Many are racist. Many more are inaccurate. And if they weren’t so ridiculous, some riddled with hilarious misspellings, I’d be even more upset. I am left wondering if the signs are comical or tragic. Or both? See some here, here, and here.

Those sassy Swedes throwing Stockholm Pride have created a way to test just how heterosexual you are by scanning your Twitter posts for obvious gay terms. The results are quite funny.

For example, if you search my Twitter account, youngbradford, the results come back pretty obvious: 1% hetero! Though I think I am even less. I tried a few others. Barack Obama: 61% hetero. Elizabeth  Taylor: 39% hetero. And Sarah Palin, who is only 47% hetero.  Though I’d hope she’d be higher. We certainly don’t want her.

Today marks the one year anniversary of Barack Obama greeting his wife Michelle with a gesture that rocked the traditional political establishment and the mainstream media. The Washington Post called it “the fist bump heard ’round the world” and to commemorate that occasion, today has been designated National Fist Bump Day.

Oh yeah, then-Senator Barack Obama also officially became the Democratic nominee for president of the United States on that historic day. The rest is history.

Incidentally, the third Thursday in April is National High Five Day.

There are lots of great images in the just-posted Flickr set by White House photographer Pete Souza, but this is my favorite:

Click to enlarge

In preparation for a meeting about the economic recovery plan, President Obama and Vermont governor Jim Douglas shift a couch in the Oval Office.

The set is filled with lots of casual, revealing moments such as this one. The full set is here.

WASHINGTON, DC, February 26, 2009 (ENS) – “Gary knows the American Dream. He’s lived it. And that’s why he shares my commitment to do whatever it takes to keep it alive in our time,” President Barack Obama said Wednesday, announcing former Washington Governor Gary Locke as his choice to lead the Commerce Department.

“It is the task of the Department of Commerce to help create conditions in which our workers can prosper, our businesses can thrive, and our economy can grow,” the President said. “That’s what Gary did in Washington state, convincing businesses to set up shop and create the jobs of the 21st century – jobs in science and technology; agriculture and energy – jobs that pay well and can’t be shipped overseas.”

Locke is President Obama’s third choice to fill the position of Commerce Secretary. First, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, a Democrat, bowed out because a grand jury is investigating a state contract. Then, after having approached the White House seeking the position, Republican Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire backed out, citing philosophical differences with the President.

Accepting the nomination at the White House, Locke was the first of the nominees to mention the environmental aspect of the job.

“The Department of Commerce plays a critical role in nurturing innovation, expanding global markets, protecting and managing our ocean fisheries, and fostering economic growth,” said Secretary-designate Locke. “The Department of Commerce can and will help create the jobs and the economic vitality our nation needs.”

Gary Locke, left, accepts the nomination as Secretary of Commerce from President Barack Obama, center, as Vice President Joe Biden applauds. February 25, 2009. (Photo by Pete Souza courtesy The White House)

The Department of Commerce includes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is responsible for fisheries management, the National Weather Service and climate research. 

If confirmed by the Senate, Locke will be the first Chinese-American Secretary of Commerce, and the third Asian American in Obama’s cabinet, joining Energy Secretary Dr. Steven Chu and Veteran Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, the most of any administration in U.S. history.

Locke served two terms as governor of Washington from 1997-2005. After leaving office, Locke joined the Seattle office of the international law firm Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, in their China and governmental relations practice groups.

As governor, Locke was one of the first to enact regulations to limit climate change, citing the absence of a Bush administration policy to combat global warming.

In May 2005 Locke signed regulations into law requiring new power plants that burn fossil fuels to offset 20 percent of their carbon dioxide emissions. Utilities can mitigate a new plant’s emissions by investing in projects such as planting trees, which absorb carbon dioxide, or converting transit buses from diesel to cleaner-burning natural gas.

In 2003, the Democratic governors of California, Oregon and Washington, including Locke, agreed to cooperate in reducing greenhouse gas emissions on the West Coast through moves such as buying more hybrid cars for state government fleets, limiting the idling of diesel engines, and encouraging the increased use of renewable energy and energy-efficient appliances.

As governor, Locke was in step with the National Governors Association on a wide range of environmental issues.

Lock sought more state autonomy on brownfields and Superfund cleanups. He said, “Since the law was enacted in 1980, the Superfund program has caused significant amounts of litigation, while cleanup of hazardous waste sites has not been as fast or effective as the statute envisioned. In addition, states have not had the necessary tools or funding from the federal government to adequately clean up state sites.”

He supported application of “Good Samaritan” rules to abandoned mine cleanup, saying, “The Western Governors believe the Clean Water Act should be amended to protect a remediating agency from becoming legally responsible for any continuing discharges from the abandoned mine site after completion of a cleanup project, provided that the remediating agency, or ‘Good Samaritan,’ does not otherwise have liability for that abandoned or inactive mine site and attempts to improve the conditions at the site.

As governor, Locke held that the states should retain primary jurisdiction over water quantity issues, water resource allocation and the determination of beneficial uses.

He backed collaborative, incentive driven, locally-based solutions to water quality restoration, which he said is “essential for economic and environmental sustainability of forestry, agriculture, fisheries, manufacturing, recreation and public water supply.”

In 2003, Governor Locke asked the U.S. Navy for an explanation of the use of sonar that may have disrupted whales and caused the death of porpoises north of Seattle.

As governor, Locke also made endangered Chinook salmon preservation a priority.

By 1999, wild salmon had disappeared from about 40 percent of their historic breeding ranges in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California. In Washington, the numbers had dwindled so much that salmon were threatened or endangered in nearly three-fourths of the state.

Governor Locke and the Legislature began a series of steps to reverse the trend, renegotiating the U.S.-Canada agreement, establishing conservation goals in rivers shared with Idaho and Oregon, and funding salmon restoration and protection projects.

“In every area of the state, we’ve gotten people together to talk about the future of our salmon, and we’ve backed those discussions with funding and resources to turn the people’s vision into reality,” Locke said in 2004. “Today, every watershed with salmon has at least one citizens’ volunteer group working to restore and enhance habitats on which the fish depend.”

If he is confirmed as Commerce Secretary, Locke will be in an even stronger position to promote salmon restoration and recovery.

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WASHINGTON, DC, February 25, 2009 (ENS) – In his first address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night, President Barack Obama earned repeated standing ovations from both Democrats and Republicans. He focused on three issues – clean energy, health care and education – and an overarching fourth issue – economic recovery.

“The fact is, our economy did not fall into decline overnight. Nor did all of our problems begin when the housing market collapsed or the stock market sank,” said the President. “We have known for decades that our survival depends on finding new sources of energy. Yet we import more oil today than ever before.”

President Barack Obama addresses his first joint session of Congress. Behind him are Vice President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. (Photo courtesy The White House)

“Now is the time to act boldly and wisely,” he said, “to not only revive this economy, but to build a new foundation for lasting prosperity. Now is the time to jumpstart job creation, re-start lending, and invest in areas like energy, health care, and education that will grow our economy, even as we make hard choices to bring our deficit down.”

Obama expressed his gratitude to the members of Congress who passed the $789 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which he signed into law on February 17.

“Over the next two years, this plan will save or create 3.5 million jobs,” Obama reiterated. “More than 90 percent of these jobs will be in the private sector – jobs rebuilding our roads and bridges; constructing wind turbines and solar panels; laying broadband and expanding mass transit.”

Those who receive funds from the recovery stimulus package must account for their expenditures, said Obama, adding, “This time, CEOs won’t be able to use taxpayer money to pad their paychecks or buy fancy drapes or disappear on a private jet. Those days are over.”

Obama met with groups of governors and mayors during the past week and told them that they will be held accountable “for every dollar they spend.”

Vice President Joe Biden, left, and President Barack Obama meet with the nation’s governors at the White House. February 23, 2009. (Photo by Pete Souza courtesy The White House)

He has asked Vice President Joe Biden to lead a “tough, unprecedented oversight effort,” because, he told Congress, “Nobody messes with Joe.”

In addition, as chairman of the new Recovery Act Transparency and Accountability Board, the President has appointed Earl Devaney, who has served as Inspector General of the Department of the Interior since 1999. In that position, he exposed the Abramoff scandals and a culture of corruption among Bush officials and appointees.

“I have appointed a proven and aggressive Inspector General to ferret out any and all cases of waste and fraud,” said Obama. “And we have created a new website called recovery.gov so that every American can find out how and where their money is being spent.”

President Obama said he will send his first budget to Congress next week.

“Even as it cuts back on the programs we don’t need, the budget I submit will invest in the three areas that are absolutely critical to our economic future: energy, health care, and education,” he said. “It begins with energy.”

“We know the country that harnesses the power of clean, renewable energy will lead the 21st century. And yet, it is China that has launched the largest effort in history to make their economy energy efficient,” the President said. “We invented solar technology, but we’ve fallen behind countries like Germany and Japan in producing it. New plug-in hybrids roll off our assembly lines, but they will run on batteries made in Korea.”

“Well I do not accept a future where the jobs and industries of tomorrow take root beyond our borders – and I know you don’t either,” Obama declared. “It is time for America to lead again.”

Dedicated in May 2008, Iberdrola’s Dillon wind farm in Palm Springs generates power for Southern California Edison customers. (Photo by Iberdrola Renewables courtesy NREL)

“Thanks to our recovery plan, we will double this nation’s supply of renewable energy in the next three years,” he said. “We have also made the largest investment in basic research funding in American history – an investment that will spur not only new discoveries in energy, but breakthroughs in medicine, science, and technology,” he said, referring to the $3 billion in the stimulus bill for the National Science Foundation.

“We will soon lay down thousands of miles of power lines that can carry new energy to cities and towns across this country. And we will put Americans to work making our homes and buildings more efficient so that we can save billions of dollars on our energy bills,” Obama said.

“But to truly transform our economy, protect our security, and save our planet from the ravages of climate change, we need to ultimately make clean, renewable energy the profitable kind of energy,” he said.

“So I ask this Congress to send me legislation that places a market-based cap on carbon pollution and drives the production of more renewable energy in America. And to support that innovation, we will invest $15 billion a year to develop technologies like wind power and solar power; advanced biofuels, clean coal, and more fuel-efficient cars and trucks built right here in America,” said President Obama.

With Democrats in control of both the House and the Senate, the President is likely to get the kind of climate change legislation he asked for.

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat who chairs the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, said after the joint session, “President Obama has it exactly right: we must ‘transform our economy, protect our security, and save our planet from the ravages of climate change.’ To accomplish those goals, the President has called on us to send him legislation that establishes a market-based cap on carbon emissions. We will work in partnership with the President, and we will answer his call.”

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (Photo courtesy Republican National Committee)

The Republican response to the President’s speech came from Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, who criticized the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

“While some of the projects in the bill make sense, their legislation is larded with wasteful spending,” he said. “It includes $300 million to buy new cars for the government, $8 billion for high-speed rail projects, such as a ‘magnetic levitation’ line from Las Vegas to Disneyland, and $140 million for something called ‘volcano monitoring.’ Instead of monitoring volcanoes, what Congress should be monitoring is the eruption of spending in Washington, DC.”

“To strengthen our economy, we need urgent action to keep energy prices down,” Jindal said. “All of us remember what it felt like to pay $4 at the pump – and unless we act now, those prices will return.

“To stop that from happening, we need to increase conservation…increase energy efficiency…increase the use of alternative and renewable fuels…increase our use of nuclear power – and increase drilling for oil and gas here at home,” said Jindal, who governs a state with a current budget surplus due to royalties from oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico.

Jindal has announced that he will decline stimulus money targeted at expanding state unemployment insurance coverage, becoming the first governor to officially refuse any part of the federal government’s payout to states.

Many environmentalists were pleased with the President’s speech. Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, said, “In this speech, President Obama presented a bold, ambitious vision to restore America’s economy and move us to a new clean energy future driven by a cap on carbon pollution.

“For the first time in history, a sitting U.S. president called on Congress to pass legislation to limit carbon pollution that will build a sustainable economic recovery by repowering America with clean energy. Investments from a carbon cap can cut our dependence on oil, make us more energy efficient and produce jobs at home,” Beinecke said.

“This represents a new era in America’s approach to energy that will break our reliance on dirty fossil fuels and push us to develop new technologies,” she said. “This is the leadership America needs to transform our energy system, protect our planet and meet the challenges of the 21st century.”

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OTTAWA, Ontario, Canada, February 19, 2009 (ENS) – President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced plans to collaborate on a new clean energy economy as a key element of broader economic recovery and reinvestment efforts between the United States and Canada.

“I value our strategic partnership with Canada and look forward to working closely with the Prime Minister to address the global economic recession and create jobs, to protect our environment through promoting clean energy technologies, and achieve our shared goals in responding to international security challenges,” said President Obama at a press conference in the Reading Room at Parliament in Ottawa.

“The President and I agree that both our countries must take immediate action to restore economic growth by lowering taxes, ensuring access to credit and unleashing spending that stimulates economic growth. We also agreed to strengthen our cooperation in the areas of environmental protection and global security,” said Prime Minister Harper.

President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper discuss clean energy in Ottawa. (Photo courtesy Office of the Prime Minister)

Noting the history of bilateral co-operation on continental environmental protection and energy trade and technology, the two leaders agreed that environmental protection and the development of clean energy are inextricably linked. They agreed to collaborate on high-return opportunities for expanded and new joint research.

“We are establishing a U.S.-Canada clean energy dialogue which commits senior officials from both countries to collaborate on the development of clean energy science and technologies that will reduce greenhouse gases and combat climate change,” Harper said.

“How we produce and use energy is fundamental to our economic recovery, but also our security and our planet,” Obama said. “And we know that we can’t afford to tackle these issues in isolation. And that’s why we’re updating our collaboration on energy to meet the needs of the 21st century.”

“The clean energy dialogue that we’ve established today will strengthen our joint research and development,” the President said. “It will advance carbon reduction technologies and it will support the development of an electric grid that can help deliver the clean and renewable energy of the future to homes and businesses, both in Canada and the United States. And through this example, and through continued international negotiations, the United States and Canada are committed to confronting the threat posed by climate change.”

President Obama and Prime Minister Harper take questions from the media. (Photo courtesy Office of the Prime Minister)

The United States and Canada are already collaborating on energy research related to advanced biofuels, clean engines, and energy efficiency.

The leaders signed a document today stating that the new clean energy dialogue will focus on carbon capture and storage technology, which they said “holds enormous potential to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions as we use our own energy resources to power our economy.”

To spur rapid progress in this critical technology, the two nations will coordinate research and demonstrations of carbon capture and sequestration technology at coal-fired plants.

“This will build on our experience with the North Dakota-Weyburn project,” the leaders’ statement says. This project pipes carbon dioxide from a North Dakota synfuels plant to a Saskatchewan oilfield 320 kilometers away and injects the greenhouse gas to enhance oil recovery. The project is expected to store about 22 million tons of CO2 and produce 130 million barrels of oil over 20 years.

To fund this part of the collaboration, the United States will draw from the $3.4 billion for carbon capture and storage demonstration provided in the newly enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Canada’s Economic Action Plan establishes a $1 billion Clean Energy Fund which builds on the Canada’s previous investments in carbon capture and sequestration.

“A strengthened U.S.-Canada partnership on carbon sequestration will help accelerate private sector investment in commercial scale, near-zero-carbon coal facilities to promote climate and energy security,” according to the leaders’ statement.

President Obama listens as Prime Minister Harper answers a reporter’s question at the news conference. (Photo by Paul Souza courtesy The White House)

The two nations will consult and share information on the demonstration and deployment of smart grid technology, including installing smart meters in residential and commercial buildings, digitizing distribution systems, and employing information and measurement tools to manage the grid more effectively.

To fund this part of the collaboration, the United States will draw from the $11 billion for smart grid technology and transmission investment in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

To build a bigger grid, the United States and Canada will share analysis of new transmission options for integrating wind power and other clean generation sources and encourage development of a grid stakeholders group, building on the existing U.S.-Canadian collaboration among the states and provinces.

These investments are expected to make electricity delivery more reliable, reduce congestion that can lead to blackouts and power losses, enable consumers to use energy more efficiently, and promote broader development of renewable power.

In advance of President Obama’s visit, Michael Ignatieff, the MP for Etobicoke-Lakeshore and leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, wrote in the “National Post” newspaper a piece that included his vision for an environmental partnership between Canada and the United States.

“Our environmental partnership should extend into the far north. Canada and the United States should work together, with other northern nations, to protect this region for the whole globe,” Ignatieff wrote.

“We should applaud the President’s campaign commitment not to undertake drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. We should maintain Canada’s long-held legal position that the North West Passage is an inland waterway and not an international strait, but we should not allow our disagreement with the Americans on the issue to preclude bilateral efforts to ensure good stewardship and orderly management by Canadians of passage through the waterway,” he wrote.

“We need to reinvigorate the Arctic Council so that all northern nations develop common strategies to mitigate the impact of global warming, avoid conflict over resource development and improve the lives of the region’s indigenous peoples.”

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WASHINGTON, DC, February 6, 2009 (ENS) – In accordance with President Barack Obama’s order in January, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will reconsider its decision denying California permission to set standards controlling greenhouse gases from motor vehicles.

The waiver request was made by California on December 21, 2005, to allow the state the right to control greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles. The request was denied by then-EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson on March 6, 2008.

On January 26, less than a week after taking office, President Obama requested that EPA revisit the matter of the denial.

“EPA has now set in motion an impartial review of the California waiver decision,” said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. “It is imperative that we get this decision right, and base it on the best available science and a thorough understanding of the law.”

The Clean Air Act gives EPA the authority to allow California to adopt its own emission standards for motor vehicles due to the seriousness of the state’s air pollution challenges.

Tailpipe emissions contain the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. (Photo by Daniel Olinick)

The EPA must approve a waiver, however, before California’s rules may go into effect. There is a long-standing history of EPA granting waivers to the state of California.

EPA believes that there are significant issues regarding the agency’s denial of the waiver. Jackson said, “The denial was a substantial departure from EPA’s longstanding interpretation of the Clean Air Act’s waiver provisions.”

EPA received on January 21, 2009, a letter from California outlining several issues for Administrator Jackson to review and reconsider about the previous denial of the waiver.

Should the EPA grant the waiver, California, and 13 other states will begin a program to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles 30 percent by 2016.

EPA will take public comment concerning the reconsideration of the waiver for a period of 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. There will also be a public hearing to be held in March in Washington, DC.

“Today’s decision is a return to sanity by an agency whose fairness and balance had been sabotaged by the partisan extremism of the Bush Administration,” said California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr.

“This is but a first step, but it signals that this EPA has a renewed commitment to sound science and to rule of law,” he said.

The regulations in question were developed under California’s 2002 vehicle greenhouse gas emissions reduction law AB 1493 authored by then-Assemblymember Fran Pavley, the first global warming law in the nation.

The California Air Resources Board adopted the Pavley regulations in 2005.

Pavley, a Democrat, was elected to the California State Senate in November 2008, where she now chairs the Natural Resources and Water Committee.

The reductions achieved by the Pavley regulations constitute an important element of the California’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent by 2020 enacted into law in 2006.

The Air Resources Board approved the Scoping Plan for this effort in December. It is the nation’s first comprehensive approach to address climate change that draws upon every sector of a state’s economy.

“California has led the way on global warming,” said Attorney General Brown, “and the state should be allowed to continue in its leadership role in reducing automobile emissions and addressing global warming.”

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