Green Ball attendees Among the attendees of the 2009 Green Inaugural Ball were (from left): Shelley H. Cohen, MPA, LEED AP Ameresco; Aimee Christensen, national co-chair, Clean Tech & Green Business for Obama; actor Paul Reiser; Rosina Bierbaum, dean of the School of Natural Resources and Environment; Larry Schweiger, president and CEO, National Wildlife Federation; Jessy Tolkan, executive director of programs, Energy Action Coalition; and musician Michael Franti.

Rosina M. Bierbaum, dean of the U-M School of Natural Resources and Environment, welcomed the emphasis on climate change and green technologies in President Obama's inauguration address this week.

"His bold, new plan to rapidly develop science-based solutions to achieve a sustainable planet is exactly what we need," said Dean Bierbaum, who viewed the speech with many environmental friends in Washington, D.C., before joining the throngs with her nephew from Chicago to watch the parade. "As someone who has spent the last 20 years advocating these issues, as well as serving in this advisory role, I felt proud that the moment has finally come where we all agree – Yes we can make transformative changes and leave a better Earth to those who follow."

Dean Bierbaum continues to serve on the Obama-appointed Agency Review Team for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the office she ran at the end of the Clinton Administration. She said it "was music to my ears" hearing President Obama's inaugural address advocate  the importance of restoring science, combating climate change, protecting our natural resources and creating clean energy revolution.

The day before the inauguration, Dean Bierbaum was a guest at the 2009 Green Inaugural Ball, which celebrated the new green economy. Former Vice President and SNRE Wege Lecturer Al Gore was the honorary chair.

More than 1,200 guests filled the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture for the ball and to celebrate America's green economy (www.greenball2009.org). The committee included more than more than 75 environmental, labor, civil justice, youth and business groups who are promoting clean energy policies, bringing the technologies to market and creating the green jobs. The all also included performances by Will.i.am, Melissa Etheridge, Maroon 5, John Legend and Michael Franti.

"The whole green economy will be a wonderful way to jump-start the emissions reductions we need to slow climate change," Dean Bierbaum told BusinessWeek's John Carey at the event.

Dean Bierbaum is currently on a year-long sabbatical, during which time she is co-authoring and co-directing the World Bank's prestigious World Development Report 2010, which focuses on climate change and development. Published since 1978, the World Development Report is an annual publication that focuses on a different topic each year and aims both to consolidate existing knowledge on a particular aspect of development and to stimulate debate on new directions for development policy.