Obama Announces Energy, Environmental Team

President-elect Barack Obama announced the "green" side of his Cabinet Monday, nominating a Nobel Prize winner to be energy secretary and calling for an "all-hands-on-deck" effort to reform the nation's pursuit of alternative fuel sources.

Steven Chu, who shared the Nobel Prize for physics 11 years ago, was tapped to be Obama's secretary of the Department of Energy.

He is currently head of the Berkeley National Laboratory and is a specialist in carbon-neutral energy sources. Obama said Chu was "uniquely suited" to serve in his Cabinet.

Obama also named Carol Browner, former Environmental Protection Agency head under the Clinton administration, to serve as his energy coordinator -- overseeing energy, climate and environmental issues.

In that role, Browner would be responsible for implementing the president-elect's promise to create millions of jobs in a green-energy economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Obama named Lisa Jackson, the former head of New Jersey's environmental protection department, as national EPA head.

In announcing his selections, Obama warned that Americans cannot be "lulled into complacency" by temporarily falling gas prices.

"To control our own destiny, America must develop new forms of energy and new ways of using it," Obama said. "This is not a challenge for government alone. It's a challenge for all of us."

Obama made the announcements as questions linger over his aides' involvement in the scandal surrounding Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

The president-elect insisted that his staff was not involved in any wrongdoing at a press conference called last week to announce his health care team and agenda.

Obama is not accused of any illicit activity. His transition team also released a statement Monday, ahead of his energy press conference, saying his staff did not have any "inappropriate discussions" with the governor's aides, after Obama directed his staff to compile a list of any contact his staff might have had with the governor's office over the seat.

The report is not expected to be made public until next week.

Obama is also meeting with his national security team Monday to discuss a range of international challenges. It is the second time the group has convened since Obama's election.

FOX News' Wendell Goler contributed to this report.