National Public Radio: All Things Considered, November 12, 2008 · President-elect Barack Obama has elevated the subject of energy to urgent status, a tier above its usual place in presidential campaigns. Obama has promised big: a $150 billion undertaking over 10 years to “green” the country’s use of energy. His newly minted energy plan promotes hybrid cars, clean coal, more wind and solar power, more efficient appliances and new fuels from plants, to name just a few items. Providing all this, he says, will …