Gardening at William & Mary

Statement

Gardening at William & Mary

What a day! The weather turned gorgeous just in time to celebrate Earth Day. On the same day that President Obama toured a wind energy facility in Iowa, I got the chance to spend some time with Virginians doing their own small part to help create a sustainable and clean future. A few weeks back, Students For a Better Williamsburg invited me down to do some Earth Day gardening at their campus garden and talk about my ideas and plans.

Boy am I glad I went. These young people are doing pretty amazing things in their Environmental Action Coalition. Together, we planted rows of broccoli. The young activists tell me they're working with the student kitchen and other aid organizations in Williamsburg to get the fresh broccoli incorporated into meals that will feed low income and elderly people in town. Most of the young student "farmers" tell me they are involved in various environmental activities on and off campus as well. A young lady named Virginia Jenkins is in her junior year, majoring in Spanish and Environmental Policy—but spends many days interning at a nearby farm. It is young people like Virginia who represent the future of the Commonwealth, merging traditional studies with environmental themes to help work toward a better tomorrow. Green policies make up a cornerstone of my campaign.

If we make investments in preserving our environment now, it will bring thousands of jobs to the commonwealth and help to reverse the harmful effects of climate change. I've spent my life building businesses, turning around struggling ones, and volunteering for the Democratic causes that I believe in. I am confident that we can do right by the environment and position our state for future economic success, but it will take strong leadership and bold ideas that don't always come from Richmond. And I believe we need to start planning now.

My Business Plan for Virginia contains incentives for renewable power generation, investments in efficiency measures, and other demand-reducing technologies, including incentives for technologies that produce energy from biomass, such as chicken waste. As Governor, I'll work with the State Corporation Commission to set a mandatory target for energy efficiency. I'll focus on reducing demand for energy and investing in clean, renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar. I'll make cleaning up the Bay a priority of my administration. And, I'll support efforts to increase protection of open space in Virginia, including a dedicated revenue source for open space protection. I want to make Virginia a leader and a national model for Green Energy and Green Jobs. And when you look around on a day like today— with clear blue skies overhead and warm air all around-- you get it. Our Commonwealth is a beautiful place and we all have to do our part to keep it that way.

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