..A must read for for every US voter and concerned citizen.. challenges the reader to explore new possibilities and new mindsets that will ultimately be required if the world is truly ready to make a change.. amazon.com US onlymention is that Vilsack is an even stronger advocate for agricultural
biotechnology, having been named Governor of the Year by the
Biotechnology Industry Organization, and closely tied to Monsanto.
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Brian Tokar
Institute for Social Ecology
P.O. Box 93
Plainfield, VT 05667
www.social-ecology.org
Iowa Ex-Governor Picked for Agriculture Secretary
By JEFF ZELENY and DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
Published: December 16, 2008, NY Times
CHICAGO — President-elect Barack Obama has selected former Gov. Tom
Vilsack of Iowa to serve as his agriculture secretary, according to
officials familiar with the decision, and will make the announcement
on Wednesday as he works to round out his remaining cabinet nominations.
Mr. Vilsack, who briefly sought the Democratic presidential
nomination in the 2008 race after serving two terms as governor, is a
strong proponent of renewable energy and developing the nation's
alternative fuel industry. He will be joined at a news conference
here by Senator Ken Salazar, Democrat of Colorado, who will be
nominated as interior secretary.
Mr. Vilsack's nomination comes at a time of extraordinary tumult for
the American agricultural industry, which not only has been battered
by the recession, but is also increasingly entangled in the
contentious debate over energy policy. The Agriculture Department is
also contending with a sharp increase in the demand for food
assistance in the wake of the economic turmoil.
Both Mr. Obama and Mr. Vilsack are regarded as staunch advocates of
ethanol and other bio-fuels as a way to reduce the nation's reliance
on foreign oil. And Mr. Obama and Democrats in Congress are working
on a major economic stimulus package, in which they intend to promote
the creation of thousands of new jobs tied to "green energy"
industries, including the production of solar and wind energy.
One of the first major decisions Mr. Obama and Mr. Vilsack may have
to make is whether to grant the ethanol industry's requests for
billions in federal aid in the stimulus bill, which Mr. Obama has
said he hopes to sign into law quickly, perhaps on his first day in
office.
"The big issue for him and any incoming secretary is going to be
biofuels, that's the sector that right now is in such a volatile
position," said Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working
Group, a nonprofit group that is a leading critic of federal farm
subsidies. American farmers, Mr. Cook said, are "hitched to both the
food system and the energy system, both of which are oscillating."
Mr. Vilsack, 58, sought the presidential nomination for about three
months, dropping out shortly after Mr. Obama entered the race. At the
time, Mr. Vilsack criticized the campaign as a process that rewarded
intense fund-raising over innovative ideas. He endorsed Senator
Hillary Rodham Clinton and served as a co-chairman of her campaign,
often criticizing Mr. Obama as lacking experience for the job.
But during the general election, Mr. Vilsack energetically campaigned
for Mr. Obama, promoting their common ideas on renewable energy and
rural growth. Late last month, Mr. Vilsack told friends he did not
believe he would be selected because he had not been interviewed, but
Democrats familiar with the process said the two men got along well
during a recent meeting in Chicago.
Mr. Vilsack, like the president-elect, is a strong advocate of
combating global warming and developing alternative sources of
energy. He was the co-chairman of a task force last year on climate
change for the Council on Foreign Relations, which recommended
phasing out subsidies for mature biofuels, including corn-based
ethanol, as well as reducing tariffs on imported biofuels like
Brazilian sugar ethanol.
"Let us build a 21st-century rural economy of cutting-edge companies
and technologies that lead us to energy and food security," Mr.
Vilsack wrote in one of several op-ed articles he had published
during the campaign. "Such an investment will revitalize rural
America, re-establish our moral leadership on climate security and
eliminate our addiction to foreign oil."
Tom Buis, president of the National Farmers Union, said Tuesday
evening that the biggest challenge facing the next agriculture
secretary would be writing rules for the new farm bill. Mr. Buis
praised the selection of Mr. Vilsack, who as governor promoted the
use of alternative energy as a means of revitalizing rural America.
"Governors understand what's going on out there," Mr. Buis said.
"With the severe economic conditions in rural America, it's good to
have someone who understands the challenges we face."
Mr. Vilsack, a native of Pittsburgh, moved to Iowa to live in the
hometown of his college-sweetheart-turned-wife, Christie Vilsack. His
career in politics was unexpectedly born in 1986 when a disgruntled
resident of Mount Pleasant barged into a City Council meeting and
killed the mayor.
Mr. Vilsack stepped in to serve as mayor. He later ran for the State
Senate and in 1998 was elected governor in a campaign that even his
closest friends did not believe he could win.
Mr. Vilsack, who has spent the fall semester as a political fellow at
the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, works as a
lawyer in Des Moines. Four years ago, he was among those who were
considered to be a running mate for Senator John Kerry. Mr. Vilsack
was not on the short list of candidates to join Mr. Obama's ticket.
Experts said Mr. Vilsack's experience as governor of a major corn-
producing state makes him intimately familiar with many of the
issues, but it also raises questions about whether he will be partial
to growers of the crop that his state is known for.
"You can't be a politician from Iowa and not be identified with a pro-
corn, pro-ethanol stance," said Mr. Cook, who leads the Environmental
Working Group. "I just hope he will be more realistic and shoot
straight with the public about what the prospects are of this in
terms of energy independence."
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Biofuels are a wide range of fuels which are in some way derived from biomass.
Your idea?