In the last 15 months, President Obama and his Administration have made significant progress in changing the way America thinks about energy and the environment, making the vision of a 21st century clean energy economy a reality.  From historic investments in clean energy infrastructure and technology; improved efficiency for buildings, appliances and automobiles; more diverse energy production from domestic and renewable sources; and reduced emissions that contribute to climate change – the President’s comprehensive strategy has put Americans back in control of their energy future, created new jobs and laid the foundation for long-term economic security, and led by example in exercising good stewardship of our environment.

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The Obama administration is hoping that $1.5 billion will finally be enough to make the U.S. a player in the global manufacturing of advanced batteries, which until now has been dominated by Asia.

Since most of the hybrids sold to date have been from Japanese manufacturers (with Toyota and Honda leading the way), it’s no surprise that the batteries that power their electric drive trains are also mostly from Japan. However, Ford has been purchasing batteries for its Escape Hybrid from Sanyo, and GM is buying batteries from Korean company LG Chem for the upcoming Chevrolet Volt. GM had been buying batteries for its hybrids from troubled U.S.-based Cobasys, which was just acquired by Japan’s Samsung.

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This post is dedicated to my hometown, Hazleton Pennsylvania

This corridor hits close to home for your humble correspondent as I, Alexander John Lennartz, am a born and raised Pennsylvanian…who did not step foot on a passenger train in the state until age 25 when I moved to the greater Philadelphia area.

In my part of the country there is no passenger rail. A fact of life for the good people of Northeast Pennsylvania is that you cannot live without a car. This was, is and for the foreseeable future will be to only mean of transportation over mid to long distances. Pennsylvania’s proud locomotive heritage has fallen to the point that many in the state regard trains in the historical sense, no longer are a form of modern transportation. The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Lancaster Country is a testament to when rails crisscrossed the Keystone State and help build and power America, moving goods and people quickly and efficiently.

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A little two-man submarine in Lake Tahoe, California, is searching for jobs under the water.

What’s down there? A nonprofit called the Undersea Voyager Project is getting ready to launch a five-year mission in 2011 to look for ideas on how to restore endangered bodies of water around the world, USA Today reports.

The one problem with water issues is that it’s hard for people to be concerned about what they can’t see.

Only 1 percent of the water column and 3 percent of the ocean floor has been explored on Planet Earth, says the group, led by Scott Cassell.

Project leaders hopes the sub’s explorations will attract attention on pollution and overfishing.

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The recession is hitting recycling hard.

Markets for metals and other recyclable goods are in the toilet. Some haulers are even stockpiling stuff in hopes of better days ahead.

The downturn has put the future of National Recycling Coalition in jeopardy, according to a letter sent recently to members. Among the ideas being floated are consolidating the group with another similar organization.

In what is becoming a familiar refrain, the federal stimulus bill holds some promise. The bill includes a provision from the NRC and its members that authorizes $3.2 billion for the Energy Efficiency Block Grant program, for communities to use for energy-related actions including projects related to source reduction and recycling, the coalition says.

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Obama promised to create new jobs by supporting clean technologies and renewable energies, and he’s been pushing hard. Last week, he appointed activist and author Van Jones as special adviser for green jobs, enterprise and innovation – a smart move given his popularity by the public, his visibility in the media and his ability to “bring people together like no other,” according to Ian who spoke to him at Berkeley last month. The new administration also just announced plans to channel $8 billion in weatherization and energy efficiency efforts promising to create 87,000 new jobs this way. Time will tell how effective these decisions are.

While the economy doesn’t seem to be anything close to recovery (yet!), career sites like CleanTechies have plenty of openings in cleantech and renewable energy.  Here are some of the exciting opportunities featured on the CleanTechies Job Board as of today – for more jobs, visit our website:

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Hold on to your hat. It’s getting breezy out there.

Seems everywhere you go on the Internet, they’re remembering a great year for wind in 2008 and predicting a decent one in 2009. What? In this economy? Yes.

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