Carol Browner Leaving As Obama Climate Adviser

Carol Browner, President Obama's top energy and climate change adviser, is departing, two White House officials said Monday.

Browner, a former Environmental Protection Agency administrator under President Clinton, will be leaving the White House just as Republicans in Congress prepare to take on the Obama administration over global warming and the administration's response to the massive Gulf oil spill.

Browner successfully helped negotiate a deal with automakers boosting federal fuel economy standards and requiring the first-ever greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles. She also pushed for billions of dollars for renewable energy in the economic stimulus bill.

But the administration fell short on it key domestic priority of passing a comprehensive energy and climate bill to place a firm limit on pollution blamed for global warming. Just after the November elections, which gave Republicans a majority of seats in the House, Obama admitted the legislation was dead.

One White House official said Browner was "confident that the mission of her office will remain critical to the president." The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Browner was "pleased" with the clean energy commitment Obama would lay out in his State of the Union address Tuesday and in his budget request.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the personnel move had not been announced.

Browner's office recently had come under scrutiny for politicizing the response to the Gulf oil spill. The commission set up by Obama to investigate the disaster said Browner misconstrued on national television the findings of a federal scientific report by saying most of the oil was gone. The White House later said she misspoke.

Browner's office also has been criticized by the presidential panel for editing an Interior Department document in a manner that implied scientists supported the administration's decision to place a moratorium on deep water drilling. The commission found no evidence that the change made was intentional, and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar later apologized for the misunderstanding.

Browner's resignation comes amid a series of high-profile staff changes in Obama's White House.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/01/25/133198219/carol-browner-leaving-as-obama-climate-adviser?ft=1&f=1003

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A Physicist Explains Why Parallel Universes May Exist

It is possible that there are many other universes that exist parallel to our universe. Theoretical physicist Brian Greene, author of The Elegant Universe, explains how that's possible in the new book, The Hidden Reality.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/01/24/132932268/a-physicist-explains-why-parallel-universes-may-exist?ft=1&f=1057

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Some Baby Formulas May Cause Faster Weight Gain

Researchers say the type of formula parents feed their babies matters. Babies who feed on cow-based formulas are more likely to put on weight rapidly compared with those whose formulas contain predigested proteins. Infants who gain weight rapidly in their first four months are more likely to be obese by age 20.

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