California Adopts Resolution Supporting 25x’25
The California State Legislature, a leader among states in forging new energy policy, has voted to support legislation pending in Congress that calls on the United States to meet at least 25 percent of the country’s total energy consumption with renewable resources by the year 2025. In doing so, California becomes the 12th state legislature to endorse the 25x’25 renewable energy goal.
The resolution, which states that “agricultural, forestry, and working land of California can help ensure a sustainable domestic energy system,” was adopted by the Assembly, 64-7, and by the state Senate, 28-8. The California body joins legislatures in Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota and Vermont in supporting 25x’25 as a national energy goal.
California Secretary of Food and Agriculture, A.G. Kawamura, a member of the National 25x’25 Steering Committee, says the resolution reflects the state’s commitment to a new energy future. “California’s endless innovation, wealth of agricultural resources and stewardship of working lands will contribute to our success in carrying out the 25x’25 Vision,” Kawamura said. “We seek new ways to maintain the profitability of agriculture and take care of our working lands. Renewable resources diversify and expand our agricultural industry.”
“The development of renewable energy is critical to our nation’s future,” said California State Sen. Abel Maldonado, the principle sponsor of the resolution. “Government ought to work with and encourage the private sector to create new, clean and reliable sources of renewable energy. We cannot continue to consume energy at our current rate without deleterious implications.” Asserting that California is a leader in environmental protection and preservation, Maldonado said the resolution encourages Congress “to continue its support of important environmentally friendly legislation.”
J. Read Smith, co-chair of the 25x’25 Steering Committee, said, “The endorsement from a legislature that is taking the lead in developing a reduced-carbon, renewable energy future shows the importance of the 25x’25 Vision to our nation. California lawmakers acknowledge that 25x’25 can increase our national security, improve our environment and boost our economy, particularly in rural areas.
Fellow 25x’25 Steering Committee Co-chair Bill Richards said the endorsement from a state as diverse in its resources as California underscores the wide range of energy sources available in a 25x’25 future. “We look at the energy potential from an array of sources – wind energy, solar power, biomass, biofuels, geothermal energy and hydropower – and California lawmakers understand that we need all of these resources to achieve a viable, national energy policy,” Richards said.
Nearly two dozen California farm, energy, business, environmental and government organizations – including the California Agriculture Commissioners and Sealers Association, the California Association of Winegrape Growers, the California Chamber of Commerce, the California Farm Bureau Federation, the California State Board of Food and Agriculture, the California State Grange, and the California Chapter of the Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association ? are among nearly 600 that have endorsed 25x’25. A study by the University of Tennessee shows a 25x’25 energy future will boost the nation’s economic activity by $700 billion per year, including $37 billion in new net farm income in 2025 alone, while creating an additional 5 million new jobs along the way.
The legislature’s timely adoption of the resolution follows last month’s announcement that the 25x’25 Initiative and the San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization (SJVCEO) have agreed to work together to make the valley a regional “demonstration project” for the achievement of the goals of the 25x’25 Vision. The San Joaquin Valley ? composed of 3.4 million people living in the eight counties of Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Tulare ? is recognized worldwide as an agricultural powerhouse and is one of the fastest growing regions in the nation. The SJVCEO is a new organization established by the Energy Work group of the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley to lead a regional effort to develop, plan and implement energy efficiencies and clean energy. For more on the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, go to http://www.sjvpartnership.org/energy.html.
To read and download the resolution, go to http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/07-08/bill/sen/sb_0001-0050/sjr_7_bill_20070906_enrolled.html. To learn more about 25x’25, go to www.25×25.org.
