TreeHugger Talks to Lisa Jackson, EPA Chief on New EPA, Youth, CO2: "We Have a Moment" [Video]

It was a big weekend for Lisa Jackson, the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency. When TreeHugger caught up with her on Saturday, the EPA chief with an interest in "putting science back into the agency" had just announced a new program to encourage kids and their families to be more energy efficient, and checked out cutting-edge green technologies at the National Sustainable Design Expo. On Sunday, she joined actor Matthew Modine in introducing the Flaming Lips to the stage for the Earth Day concert on the National Mall.

But the real highlight was on Friday, when Jackson announced the EPA's finding that greenhouse gases are pollutants.

The finding clears the way for regulation under the Clean Air Act -- and provides a big incentive for Congress to pass legislation instead, an option she and President Obama have said they prefer as a US approach to climate change ahead of global talks in Copenhagen this year. After "the past eight years," she said, "we want people to know we're on the job working for them."

More on the Lisa Jackson and the EPA at TreeHugger
Obama EPA Head Nominee Lisa Jackson Says She'll Put Science Back Into the Agency
Who’s Who on Obama’s Green Team: Lisa Jackson, Administrator of the EPA
BREAKING: EPA Declares Greenhouse Gases Threat to Human Health
EPA's CO2 Scheme: the Most Ambitious Regulation Challenge in History?
EPA Grants Millions for Green Wastewater Projects

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