Aaron Naparstek

On Monday, Obama announced his "green dream team." Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood wasn't there.

The Washington Post says it's official. 

One of the major, Eisenhower-era obstacles to fuel efficiency, automaker reform and meaningful climate change legislation is finally out of the way. The Democratic caucus has ousted Michigan Rep. John Dingell as chair of the House Energy and Commerce committee. He'll be replaced by California Rep. Henry Waxman. Amen. 

Before the financial meltdown severely undercut John McCain's presidential ambitions, his campaign was giddy over the apparent success of its energy policy message: Drill, baby, drill!

Jim Kunstler, author of The Long Emergency, has been predicting today's financial catastrophe for a few years now so it's no surprise that his blog is loading slowly this morning. The people want to know: What's going to happen next?

Having dispensed with the question of whether an African-American or woman will ever make it to the White House, conservative Culture Warriors have moved on to defining and dividing Americans over their chosen mode of transportation. These two images have been floating around the right wing blogosphere under the shrieky, all-caps headline, "THIS IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW." Somehow or another this strikes me as a promising development.

As the Democratic convention convenes in Denver, Matt Davies of the Journal News drills down on the national energy policy debate. Click through for the punchline.

Back in his Straight Talkin' days Senator John McCain acknowledged that offshore drilling wasn't a viable solution for America's energy troubles. In 2003, he broke with the Bush Administration and co-introduced legislation to reduce carbon emissions, by, in effect, imposing a price on them. McCain had a reputation for being a politician who told the American people the truth, even when the truth wasn't something that people particularly wanted to hear. But the past few weeks have seen a fundamental change in McCain, writes Elizabeth Kolbert in an outstanding piece in this week's New Yorker: