California has long been a rogue state in terms of leading the nation on energy and environmental policy. From tailpipe emisissions to HVAC equipment energy standards, California has given bellyaches and migranes to national trade associations and federal agencies for years, some of which have gone to the Supreme Court for resolution. Through elections, appointments, and good old-fashioned power grabbing, California has recently established itself as a powerhouse for shaping national energy and environmental policy under President Obama's administration. Here's how the table is set. The secretary of the U.S. Dept. of Energy is Nobel Laureate Steve Chu, former director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), which is based in Berkeley, Calif. DOE's network of national labs has a collective portfolio that ranges from residential building codes to nuclear weapons development. Chu's credentials at LBNL bill him as one with vision and leadership, and as "one of the nation's foremost and outspoken advocates for scientific solutions to the twin problems of global warming and the need for carbon-neutral renewable sources of energy."
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