Super Eco

Photo credit: change.gov

Anyone familiar with the incredibly well-managed campaign that our President-Elect ran is well aware that communicating with and listening to voters' concerns was key to his election. And of course, a large part of that communication occurred via the internet. So it should come as no surprise that Barack Obama's change.gov website would now be soliciting questions from all of us as to how he plans to take action on various issues. Topics addressed include the economy, national security, foreign policy, education, health care, and of course, the environment.

Questions are rated by site visitors and among the top-rated questions are those dealing with intercity rail projects, renewables vs. nuclear and distributed power. Looking at the list, there are many intelligent questions concerning energy and our environmental future. Some questions are broad but some are quite specific—asking, for example, what the administration plans to do to protect Alaska's wildlife habitats, and what the administration plans to do to force China, India and other major polluters to comply with  environmental agreements such as  the Kyoto Protocol. The Obama administration will be answering some of the top-rated questions in the near future. Questions currently in the lead: "Will you protect the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve from oil and gas development?" and "Can we reduce the stress on the national grid by helping home owners and businesses produce their own electricity locally using solar power? Would this be faster and more cost effective creating even more jobs?"

The questions in all of the categories show that Americans want to be heard and when given the opportunity and the promise of being heard without condescension, will voice their opinions, thoughts and concerns thoughtully and intelligently. The questions are most definitely worth looking at and I will be eagerly looking forward to the answers. And if our President-Elect stays true to form, I have no doubt they will be intelligent, sincere, and hopeful.