Providing incentives for hybrids and investing in renewable technology are just a few of the environmental issues highlighted by U.S House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who spoke at City Hall yesterday. Speaking of her "New Direction Congress", she stood with U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett, city council members, and Austin Energy head Roger Duncan to highlight Austin's leadership in finding alternative energy sources and reducing energy consumptions. According to the Statesman:

"The boast of a clean energy capital of the nation is a very legitimate one," she said, singling out clean energy programs at the University of Texas and Austin's lead role in encouraging the use of hybrid vehicles. "Issues of climate change are as local as a neighborhood and as global as the planet."

Nothing new here. The question remains if this will translate to regulation for climate change and carbon dioxide initiatives in upcoming congressional sessions.

Image from Matthew Bradley on Flickr.