He unplugged the extra refrigerator in the basement. He got a tankless water heater and reduced the heat setting. He turned down the air conditioning last summer and used fans to keep cool.

Yes, Energy Secretary Steven Chu acknowledged, "I'm an energy efficiency nut."

The Nobel physics laureate said he's slowly weatherizing his home in the Washington DC area, but "weatherizing" isn't a word he likes. "I'm decreasing its energy consumption and making money," was how he put it at a Reuters Washington Summit. Chu figures his energy bills are about half what the home's previous owners paid.

But he said that he, and most people, could still do more.

"In terms of energy efficiency, it's what the economists would say is a market failure ... Most people don't have the knowledge or inclination, there's inertia, they just can't be bothered, they let some things slip," Chu said. And he himself is not immune: "We've been living in the house for five months and it's still a work in progress -- and I'm an energy efficiency nut."

"Going to the hardware store, getting the foam and putting it around your hot water pipe, that doesn't take that long for a homeowner to do it themselves," he said. "It's a no-brainer, but people don't do it."

Time for some stepped-up public education about energy efficiency? "We're trying, we're trying!"

Chu bikes around Washington when he can, but said that is mostly to keep fit rather than save on fuel. Still, he's working on whittling down the time it takes to ride his bicycle from his home to the city center.

Click here for more Reuters Washington Summit news.

Photo credit: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (Chu at Reuters Washington Summit, October 20, 2009)

U.S. first lady Michelle Obama told an audience at the U.S. mission to the United Nations that she was “thrilled” to be back in New York for the first time since her husband Barack Obama became the 44th U.S. president in January. But she said some things are even more exciting than addressing an audience of 150 U.S. diplomats, military advisers and other government officials.

“I’m thrilled to be here but I was just at ‘Sesame Street’, I’m sorry,” she said, referring to the long-running U.S. children’s television program. “I never thought I’d be on ‘Sesame Street’ with Elmo and Big Bird and I was thrilled. I’m still thrilled. I’m on a high. I think it’s probably the best thing I’ve done so far in the White House.”

One of the biggest rounds of applause during the first lady’s 20-minute appearance at the U.S. mission in midtown Manhattan came when she read a letter the son of one of the mission staffers, Scott Turner, recently sent to the president.  According to Michelle Obama, Turner’s son Jack, a first grader,  wrote to the president:

“Dear Mr. Obama - Can you move to New York? Because people like you in New York. I will help you come to New York and people are doing bad stuff in New York. I will help you get the bad people and when I catch the bad people I will put them in jail. That’s why I want you to move to  New York. From Jack.”

The first lady said she had already found a job for Jack: “Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have identified the new future New York Police Commissioner. Jack is on the case.”

Michelle Obama also thanked a group of 40 employees of the U.S. mission in the audience who have been working for the U.S. government for more than 20 years. One of them, Ivan Ferber, has been with the U.S. mission for 47 years, which she said is “longer than I’ve been alive.”

In sharp contrast to the administration of former President George W. Bush, whose officials were often dismissive and critical of the United Nations and other multilateral organizations, Michelle Obama emphasized that the new administration felt it was vitally important to work with allies.

“As the president has said, the United States is pursuing a new era of engagement when it comes to advancing America’s interests around the world,” she said. “This new policy recognizes that the fact that America’s future is intricately linked to the rest of the world, that the threats facing the global community know no borders and no single country can tackle them alone. We’ve learned this again with the recent
outbreak of the H1N1 virus.”

The first lady also spoke about the important tasks facing U.S. diplomats working with the United Nations to bring aid to the developing world. “Your work links the world to America and American ideals that are beacons of hope for millions of people,” she said.

“The young boy who’s forced to carry a rifle and become a child soldier — he’s counting on you,” she said. “The girl locked out of the schoolhouse or attacked because she had the audacity to want to learn to read or write — she’s counting on you. The mother walking hours each day to find clean water for her children — she’s counting on you. And the father who leaves his family for months or years on end in search of work — he’s counting on you as well.”

The first lady suggested that she, too, might want to get involved in working with poorer countries around the world, but she did not provide any specifics.

Washingtonian is making the most of the buzz on its May issue with a shirtless President Obama on the cover.

Obama didn’t pose for the picture. It’s the same shirtless paparazzi photo taken  while he was on vacation in Hawaii in December.  But the magazine took some creative license and changed the color of his swim trunks from black to red.

The glossy magazine that bills itself as the guide to life, media, gossip and politics in Washington used the photo to illustrate its cover story “26 Reasons to Love Living Here” (he’s reason #2 - “Our New Neighbor is Hot,” according to the cover).

Now, Washingtonian is asking visitors to it  web site to weigh in on  what they think of the cover. So far among the responses, variations on inappropriate  and “tasteless” prevail.

“Tasteless! President Obama should be given the respect he deserves, instead of turning him into a bathing suit hot model,” wrote Sharon Okolicsanyi and a writer identified as Bernadette posted: “Tacky, tabloid-esque, inappropriate, and smutty. That’s what I think of this cover.”

Some readers didn’t mind, as in this comment by Linda: “I love this cover! I’m a sixtyish woman and don’t find one single thing wrong with a picture of a handsome man who just happens to be President on your cover.”

What’s your opinion? Is the swimsuit cover okay — or not?

Photo credit:Reuters/Jason Reed (Obama during a tree planting at a park in Washington)

The U.S. Senate went two different ways on the estate tax, which has been a contentious issue for years — a tax congressional Republicans have villified as the “death tax”.

Senators voted 51-48 to include a provision in the fiscal 2010 budget that called for exempting estates at $5 million for individuals and limiting the tax to 35 percent — though the measure is non-binding and could be stripped out when the legislation is melded with a separate budget that passed the House of Representatives.

The amendment provoked a moment of drama in an otherwise long day of voting in the Senate where Democratic leaders scrambled to find the votes to kill the amendment, which scores some political points to those who have rallied against the estate tax for years.

The amendment was backed by several Democrats, including a couple senators facing tough re-election bids next year, Senators Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Patty Murray of Washington.

The New York Times was so incensed by the amendment it wrote the following in its lead editorial on Thursday:

“The proverbial millionaires next door — the plumbers, contractors and accountants who amass substantial wealth through hard work and modest living — are not the intended beneficiaries of the proposed cut. The Obama budget already takes care of them, because it retains today’s law, which imposes the estate tax only on couples with property worth more than $7 million, or individuals with property worth more than $3.5 million. That means 99.8 percent of estates will never — ever — pay a penny of estate tax.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell argued that “No one should have to be taxed on their assets twice, and no one should have to visit the taxman and the undertaker on the same day. But if we can’t repeal this tax, then we should at least lower it at a time when Americans are already burdened by shrinking retirement savings.”

President Barack Obama had proposed in his budget plan keeping the estate tax exemption at its current level of $3.5 million and tax the rest at 45 percent.

But minutes later the Senate adopted a second amendment that would require a 60-vote threshold to change the estate tax rate and exemption beyond the current levels unless commensurate tax relief was offered those who earn less than $100,000 annually.

Since Republicans now have only 42 seats in the Senate, and 10 Democrats supported the earlier amendment, reaching 60 votes likely would be tough.

In any event, since the amendments are part of the non-binding budget resolution, the votes are really just symbolic.

Click here for more Reuters political coverage.

Democrats and Republicans each claim bragging rights in a U.S. congressional race billed as a referendum on President Barack Obama.
 
But political analysts said the special election to fill a vacant seat from New York in the House of Representatives was so close — and yet to be decided — no one has much cause to celebrate.
 
“It’s basically a tie. It’s like kissing your sister,” said Charlie Cook of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, which tracks congressional and presidential races.
 
As of Wednesday, a day after the election, Democrat Scott Murphy, a venture capitalist, held a lead of fewer than 70 votes over Republican New York Assemblyman Jim Tedisco.
 
The race likely will be decided by absentee ballots.
 
“Regardless the final outcome, the fact that we closed a 21-point margin (in the polls) in eight weeks is a testament to the fact that the economic message that Scott Murphy carried resonated with voters and his message was support the president’s economic recovery plan,” said Congressman Chris Van Hollen, head of the House Democratic campaign committee.
 
Republicans said the congressional district, though long Republican, went Democrat in recent years, including last November when Obama won it by 3 percentage points.
 
“Jim Tedisco has closed the gap in a district that has come to exemplify Democratic dominance,” said Pete Sessions, chairman of the House Republican campaign committee.
 
“That is a testament to the strength of Jim’s campaign and the effectiveness of the Republican message of fiscal responsibility and accountability,” Sessions said.
 
Nathan Gonzales of the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report, said, “Both sides have reasons to be happy, but also reason to be a little disappointed.”
 
The seat has been open since January, when New York Governor David Paterson appointed Kirsten Gillibrand to the U.S. Senate.

Click here for more Reuters coverage.

Photo credit: Reuters/Joshua Roberts (Obama points after signing the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 in the East Room of the White House in Washington, March 30 )

With jazz great Herbie Hancock and Congressman John Lewis at her side, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hosted a State Department ceremony on Thursday to mark the departure of a cultural delegation to India to commemorate civil rights leader Martin Luther King’s trip there 50 years ago.

King and his wife, Coretta, traveled to India in 1959 to study the life and works of India’s legendary nonviolent independence leader Mahatma Gandhi. King adopted many of Gandhi’s principles of nonviolence to the U.S. civil rights movement in the early 1960s.
 
Clinton said she was “jealous” of the trip by the delegation, which includes Hancock, civil rights veteran Lewis, King’s son, Martin Luther King III, and Alabama Congressman Spencer Bachus. The group will travel to New Delhi and other sites associated with Gandhi.

Hancock said the philosophy of cooperation, communication and harmony espoused by King and Gandhi “are also essential elements of every jazz band.”

Clinton, meanwhile, said the delegation was “exactly what the State Department should be doing even more of.”

“Jazz is not just about music,” the newly installed diplomat said. “As secretary of state, I’m improvising every day.”

For more Reuters political news, click here.

Photo credit: Reuters/Tim Parker (Herbie Hancock and trumpeter Roy Hargrove play at Powell Symphony Hall in St. Louis on Sept. 28, 2001)

First Lady Michelle Obama’s “new neighborhood tour” landed at a community health center a short distance from the White House on Tuesday.

 She has stopped by a few federal agencies in the three weeks since Barack Obama became president. The nearly hour-long visit to Mary’s Center was Mrs. Obama’s first solo venture into a Washington neighborhood.

“Why did you want to come out and meet us?” asked one of the teens who sat with her. 

“Barack is real busy right now so I figured I’ve got the time on my hands and while the kids are in school, I figured I would come out and hear about programs and meet students,” Obama said.

She also read to a group of 3-to-5-year-olds and wrapped up with a call for hugs. Most of the kids complied.  “More, more, more, whatcha leaving me hanging?” Obama asked.  “Oh delicious. Thank you.”

Photo credit: Reuters/Joshua Roberts ( Michelle Obama visits community center near White House)

President Barack Obama, steeled by Chicago’s harsh winters, had some unsolicited advice for shivering Washingtonians on Wednesday — toughen up.
 
Obama took a joking dig at residents of Washington, his new adopted home, after his daughters’ school was closed because of icy streets and sidewalks in the nation’s capital.
 
“My children’s school was canceled today, because of what? Some ice,” he said to laughter as he spoke to reporters while sitting down with corporate executives to discuss his economic recovery plan.
 
As one of his girls, who both attend the private Sidwell Friends school, pointed out, Obama added, “in Chicago, school is never canceled. … You’d go outside for recess. You wouldn’t even stay indoors.”
 
“We’re going to have to apply some flinty Chicago toughness,” he said in an amused tone.
 
Asked whether was calling Washingtonians wimps, Obama — who moved his family from Chicago before his presidential inauguration last week — said, “I’m saying when it comes to the weather, folks in Washington don’t seem to be able to handle things.”

For more Reuters political news, click here

Photo credit: Reuters/Jason Reed (Obama meets business leaders)

WASHINGTON - Former Republican White House candidate John McCain said on Monday he wished he were taking the presidential oath of office but pledged his support to former rival Barack Obama instead.

McCain, speaking at a dinner in his honor on the eve of Obama’s swearing-in, reflected on his own career of military and public service when mentioning Tuesday’s inauguration.

“I would have preferred to have sworn again tomorrow the oath I first took more than 50 years ago,” he said.

“But it would be an act of stunning ingratitude were I to resent the decision of the American people or dismiss the privilege I still possess: the privilege of serving in some capacity the country that has been so good to me.”

McCain wished the president-elect well even as he said the two may continue to joust in the future.

“We will disagree now and again, but not always and not for personal reasons, and not, I assure you, over the purpose we share: the progress of the nation we love,” he said.

The Arizona senator and Obama, a former senator from Illinois, clashed repeatedly on the 2008 campaign trail over policy in often bitter exchanges. McCain gave a gracious concession speech, however, after his loss on Nov. 4 and met with Obama in Chicago after the election.

Click here for more Reuters political coverage

Photo credit: Reuters/Jim Young - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama speaks beside U.S. Sen. John McCain during the Bipartisan dinner honoring McCain in Washington on Jan. 19, 2009.

WASHINGTON - The million or more people expected in Washington for Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration might want to wear comfortable shoes and be prepared for a whole lot of walking.

Private vehicles will not be able to get anywhere near the action on Jan. 20, when Obama is sworn in as president, under a plan to help with crowd management detailed by the U.S. Secret Service on Wednesday. 

Cars will be banned on major bridges connecting Virginia to Washington.
Streets will be closed across a broad section in the middle of the city.  Visitors’ best bets for getting around will be public transportation, bicycles or walking. 

The Washington Post reported that the street closings were necessary to help manage the record crowds that are expected for the inauguration and to make space for charter buses that will bring many people to the city. 

When you’re done walking through the secured car-free zone, those comfortable shoes will come in handy while you wait to pass through security screenings along the inaugural parade route and at the inaugural balls.

“Please allow for additional time for this security screening, as it is expected that lines may be long,” the Secret Service advises. 

The latest estimates of the number of people expected to converge on Washington range from at least 1.5 million to more than 3 million,  the Post said.

    - Photo credit: Reuters/Larry Downing (Briefing on inauguration logistics, Dec. 18)