text: President Bill Clinton has nominated UN Ambassador Bill Richardson as Secretary of Energy, where he will oversee the federal government's alternative energy subsidy programs. Clinton said that a top Richardson priority will be global warming. "I believe that this challenge will require the greatest energy from our labs, from our scientists and technology, from an Energy Department that can work clearly with the private sector on what plainly will be one of America's most important priorities for years and years to come," Clinton said (Reuters, June 18, 1998).