Obama's challenge

It is a cause for great celebration that a black man has become the most powerful politician on the planet, and I was overjoyed when I watched the videos on the Guardian newspaper's website of black people voting and celebrating in the US, and Obama's Kenyan relatives watching the results.

I looked into Obama's sources of funding a while ago and while about half is individual donations, and a high proportion from silicon valley - Google, Myspace, Facebook, etc - the usual suspects from the oil industry and the car industry, media magnates and even the religious pressure groups always make sure they back both sides.

Recall the euphoria around the 1997 UK election result - let's not get our hopes up. If he is THAT progressive, be sure there will be forces to temper his radicalism.

The Low Carbon Kid will be pleased to see the US re-entering the post-Kyoto negotiations, and will watch to see if they adopt a cap-and-dividend policy and use the finance raised to pour billions into developing post-carbon energy industries. On this note, read today's blog from Peter Barnes - How Obama can revive the economy and heal the planet.