This is exactly the kind of energy and environmental policy that John Kerry has advocated for DECADES.

April 26, 2004 NY TIMES EDITORIAL

New Allies in the Energy Wars

The spirit of bipartisanship on energy and environmental policy that has taken root among Eastern governors is showing signs of life in the West, traditionally an area of nonstop ideological warfare on these issues. Earlier this month, at an "energy summit" of governors and representatives from 18 Western states, Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, a Democrat, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, a Republican, co-signed a statement strongly endorsing energy efficiency and setting aggressive targets for much greater use of wind, solar, biomass and other forms of renewable energy throughout the region.

This was not politically risky for either man. Mr. Richardson, who served as President Bill Clinton's energy secretary, is known for his progressive views on these issues. Mr. Schwarzenegger's constituents include many lively and vocal environmentalists. Even so, their joint appeal for more enlightened strategies contrasts sharply with the gridlock over energy policy in Washington and with the Bush administration's faithful obeisance to the needs of producers of traditional fuels like oil, natural gas and coal.

The statement is intended as the starting point for a more detailed regional strategy the two governors will offer at another meeting in June. It calls for the 18 Western states to develop at least 30,000 megawatts of electricity from renewable sources by 2015. That is about 15 percent of current demand in the region. The statement also calls for a 20 percent increase in electrical efficiency by 2020. Energy experts regard these targets as ambitious but achievable.

The statement is timely because energy policy at the national level is moving in exactly the opposite direction. Congress favors traditional fossil-fuel industries. The Interior Department, following the playbook drawn up by the Cheney energy task force three years ago, is aggressively seeking to drill for oil and gas on sensitive public lands. And, according to recent surveys, Western regulators are abandoning plans for cleaner but more costly gas-fired power plants and instead are considering proposals for 35 new coal-fired power plants, all of them based on decades-old technologies that do little to control carbon dioxide, the main global warming gas.

In recent years, innovative thinking on energy policy at the state level has been largely confined to the East, where officials like Gov. George Pataki of New York have developed plans for collective action to reduce air pollution and develop alternative energy sources. It is heartening to see Western governors rise to the challenge.



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