Here is he official Sierra Club response... Begin forwarded message: > From: [log in to unmask] > Date: December 17, 2008 12:55:52 p CST > To: [log in to unmask] > Cc: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Fwd: Sierra Club Praises Nominations for Interior, > Agriculture > > > > > > FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 17, 2008 > CONTACT: David Willett, 202.675.6698 > Josh Dorner, 202.675.2384 > > Sierra Club Praises Salazar, Vilsack Nominations > > Washington, D.C.—President-Elect Barack Obama today formally > announced the nominations of Senator Ken Salazar of Colorado for > Secretary of the Interior and former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack for > Secretary of Agriculture. > > Statement of Carl Pope, Sierra Club Executive Director > > Senator Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior: > > "The Sierra Club is very pleased with the nomination of Ken Salazar > to head the Interior Department. As a Westerner and a rancher, he > understands the value of our public lands, parks, and wildlife and > has been a vocal critic of the Bush Administration's reckless > efforts to sell-off our public lands to Big Oil and other special > interests. Senator Salazar has been a leader in protecting > places like the Roan Plateau and he has stood up against the Bush's > administration's dangerous rush to develop oil shale in Colorado and > across the West. > > "Senator Salazar has also been a leading voice in calling for the > development of the West's vast solar, wind, and geothermal > resources. He will make sure that we create the good-paying green > jobs that will fuel our economic recovery without harming the public > lands he will be charged with protecting. > > "Senator Salazar will inherit an agency that has suffered from a > pervasive rot under the Bush administration due to widespread > corruption, simple incompetence, and severe underfunding. We are > confident that Senator Salazar will work with President-Elect Obama > to undo the damage of the Bush years and chart a course that will > allow this vast agency to return to its proud legacy of protecting > our last wild places, wildlife, and vast natural resources." > > Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture: > > "The Sierra Club congratulates Governor Vilsack on his appointment > to head the Department of Agriculture. We look forward to working > with him in this new role. With a Secretary Vilsack overseeing the > National Forest System and the Conservation Reserve Program, we are > optimistic that USDA can once again become a responsible steward of > wilderness and vital habitat for wildlife. > > "Governor Vilsack can play an important role in helping to bring > about the clean energy economy in a way that benefits both farmers > and rural communities and our environment. The USDA can take the > lead in moving us past the corn-based ethanol of today toward the > next-generation biofuels of tomorrow. These next-generation > biofuels will not just provide farmers with new sources of income > and help us break our dangerous dependence on oil, but they will > also help President-Elect Obama achieve his ambitious plans to > tackle global warming." > > # # # > > > > > > > > > Sierra Club | 85 Second St., San Francisco, CA 94105 | Change Media > Type | Contact Us | Visit the Press Room > > Update My Profile | Manage My Email Preferences | Update My > Interests | Unsubscribe > > > > > One site keeps you connected to all your email: AOL Mail, Gmail, and > Yahoo Mail. Try it now. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask] Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp