Super Eco

Photo credit: Obama-Biden Transition Project

Carol Browner, former EPA administrator under President Bill Clinton and, until 2008, chair of the Audubon Society, is President Barack Obama's nominee for White House Energy Czar.

Born and raised in South Miami, Florida, Browner's formative experiences included hiking in the Everglades and diving in coastal waters. She graduated with a BA and a JD from the University of Florida and the University of Florida School of Law. She has had a long and varied career in policy and government jobs, always with an environmental component. Her first job upon graduation from law school was as General Counsel for the Florida House of Representatives Committee on Government Operations. In 1983, she went to work for Ralph Nader's lobbying organization, Citizen Action in Washington, D.C. Between 1986 and 1991, she worked for Florida senator Lawton Chiles and Tennessee senator Al Gore, focusing on environmental issues such as expanding Florida's Big Cypress National Preserve and preparing amendments to the Clean Air Act.

In 1991, Browner went back to Florida and, as Secretary of Environmental Regulation, headed the states EPA. After the 1992 presidential election, Browner was named head of Al Gore's transition team, and subsequently nominated by Clinton to head the U.S. EPA. While in the role, she became unpopular with oil and gas industry groups, food companies, and many conservatives. When George W. Bush took office in 2001, Browner went on to work closely with former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright as a founding member of the Albright Group (a "global strategy" consulting group) and Albright Capital Management. She also became active in the non-profit sector, and served on the boards of the Audubon Society, the Alliance for Climate Protection, the Center for American Progress and the League of Conservation Voters.

Browner has one son, Zachary, born in 1987, and she has been married three times. Her current husband is former congressman Thomas Joseph Downey.

Notable Eco Activity

Carol Browner is widely admired by environmentalists and criticized by conservatives and industry groups. The National Resources Defense Council calls her "an inspiring leader inspiring leader and an aggressive regulator who took seriously her responsibility as head of the Clinton EPA to enforce the nation's environmental laws." On the other end of the spectrum, Myron Ebell, director of energy and global-warming policy at the conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute, describes her appointment as a "most unfortunate decision." Both sides agree she has a "steel backbone" and she takes the threat of global warming seriously, in stark contradiction to the general beliefs of appointees under President George W. Bush.

As head of the EPA, Browner was instrumental in strengthening and defending many environmental regulations, including the Clean Water Act, air pollution control rules for diesel fuels, emissions limits for diesel engines, the Safe Water Drinking Act and the Food Quality Protection Act. However, some environmentalists have criticized her for submitting to food industry pressures with regards to certain pesticides.

Browner was the longest-serving head of the EPA. She has received two lifetime achievement awards; one from the South Florida Chapter of the Audubon Society, and the Lifetime Environmental Achievement Award from the New York State Bar Association.

• Carol Browner Details

  • Birth Date

    December 16, 1955

  • Born In

    United States

  • Home Page

    Unavailable

  • Lives In

    United States

  • Organizations

    Unavailable

  • Occupation

    Energy Czar nominee