Renewable Washington

I am in love with Governor Christine Gregoire. Wow. (I haven’t felt this way about another woman since I saw Kim Deal play with the Pixies a couple of years ago at the Big Easy). Governor Gregoire opened the “Global Oil Depletion” Summit at the Davenport Hotel on October 4th and was fantastic.

She was enigmatic, intelligent, upbeat and she knew a lot about renewable energy. In fact, she wants to see Washington State as the Global leader when it comes to sustainability and renewables. Her former role as head of the Department of Ecology has prepared her well. She was well-versed in our shared energy predicament—at one point saying that currently “$9 billion will leave Washington State to pay for gas, and most of this goes overseas—we are not reinvesting in our economy.”

One-third of Washington State jobs depend on trade and she wants to redirect that to local jobs in the renewable energy sector. She is not just talk. This past year she signed the country's most progressive legislation related to the solar industry (SB5101 and SB5111) and she endorsed State start-up funds for two anaerobic digesting plants that were built in Hood Canal and Linden, WA, where they are turning methane from cows into electricity. She also wants to see “yesterday’s waste become today’s second cash-crop” in the form of biomass and biodiesel. She no longer sees our State as mass-producing food, but instead concentrating on quality and producing the highest yield possible. We also need to continue with our ground-breaking research into renewables.

Governor Gregoire ended her speech by saying that by failing to turn to renewable energy we face “consequences in terms of quality of life, our economy and global warming.” She urged conference participants to help “get the word out to the remaining 6 million Washington residents.” It looks like it is time to start.

For more information about Washington State Legislation related to renewable energy please visit the following website: www.leg.wa.gov/wsladm/billinfo1/dspBillSummary.cfm?billnumber=5101&year=2005