Leanne Tobias

The December 15 rollout of the Obama energy team spurred Andrew Revkin, author of the New York Times's Dot Earth blog, to question leaders in environment, policy and economics on whether the global climate change challenge could best be addressed as a regulatory problem (cap and trade) or a technology challenge (carbon sequestration, non-polluting fuels). The answers, from an impressive roster of luminaries ranging from Princeton's Robert Socolow (the progenitor of the "climate wedge" method of addressing global warming-reducing emissions through a variety of available approaches, each approach being a "wedge") to experts from the Natural Resources Defense Council, the...

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When the Big Three visited Capitol Hill for financial relief in November, I took them to task for mismanagement and for decades of fuel inefficiency, but supported their green vehicle initiatives and suggested that the U.S. Congress (or the federal government) not throw the baby out with the bathwater.

The automakers visited Congress again on December 4, and this time they made a more publicly acceptable arrival: They drove straight through from Detroit in fuel-efficient cars and ate boxed lunches en route.

Unfortunately, many members of Congress remained angry and skeptical of Detroit and of bailouts generally, and a Congressional fix is likely to be tough sledding. Richard...

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You'd already guessed it … but now it's official: The U.S. has been in recession since December 2007. The official announcement was made Monday, followed by yet another drop in the Dow.

My own belief (and the economic consensus is moving in this direction, too) is that public fiscal stimulus is needed stat. Ben Bernanke has tried his best with monetary policy, but the interest rates controlled by the Fed are so low that there's not much left to cut.

One quick fix is available to either the current Administration or to the incoming one, and it's a green one: Complete the pending Department of Energy regulations requiring federal agencies to buy and supply only Energy Star or similarly...

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Real estate and green technologies remain front and center this week in U.S. economic news.

On the crisis containment front, the U.S. government has mounted a $326 billion rescue of Citigroup, including a fresh $20 billion cash injection and the guarantee of up to $306 billion in troubled mortgage-backed securities. In return, the taxpayers receive $7 billion in Citigroup preferred stock at an 8 percent dividend. Here's the term sheet for the Citigroup rescue. One refinement from previous bailouts: Citigroup must suspend dividend payouts and restrict executive compensation absent federal approval.

In economic stimulus news, green strategies remain front and center. In a November 22...

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