Published: 1 years 234 days ago
Sacramento Business Journal: New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman drew 905 people — a near-capacity crowd — to the Crest Theatre Thursday for Mayor Kevin Johnson’s monthly Greenwise initiative meeting, saying major challenges facing humanity are creating big opportunities for innovators.
“Sustainable values” must return to the market, he said, adding that he’d like to see an ecosystem in this country that would stimulate innovators who are searching for abundant, cheap, clean, reliable electrons.
Also making remarks at the event were Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, a Sacramento Democrat, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who participated in a brief question and answer session with Johnson and Friedman.
Schwarzenegger spoke out against Proposition 23, saying it’s important to keep Assembly Bill 32 in place not only for the environment and the economy, but for people’s health. One in six children in parts of the Central Valley has asthma, he said.
Friedman noted that the federal government might not have an energy bill, which would help create a market for the green sector, for two or three years. He called California, which has created its own energy standards with AB 32, “the last firewall.”
Friedman’s appearance is part of Johnson’s effort to help Sacramento become a hub for green and clean-technology jobs. Johnson launched Greenwise in May in an effort to make the region the greenest in the country.
http://sacramento.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2010/09/27/daily67.html
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