Governor Jerry Brown
From the 1970s to 2015 ...
The last week of 2014, GreenPolicy360 highlighted the work of Pope Francis.
This week, the first week of 2015, we have highlighted the work of Edmund G. 'Jerry' Brown.
Perhaps it is fitting to move from a Jesuit pope on to a former Jesuit seminarian -- now 76 and Governor of California
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"California feeds on change and great undertakings, Jerry Brown said in Monday's (January 5, 2014) swearing-in speech, "but the path of wisdom counsels us to ground ourselves and nurture carefully all we have started..."
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January 5, 2015 Inauguration Speech (video)
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Some years ago, your GreenPolicy editor had the opportunity to serve as an advisor to Jerry's presidential campaign and the Governor and I worked closely on the campaign's We the People platform. Political reform across a breadth of issues was on our agenda. The preparation of briefing books for the debates was a challenge, as we argued watering down of environmental and work protection laws was flawed policy. Up until the 90's the US had set green and labor standards which were being set aside by both parties in the 90s. We argued for a better approach, and for money out of politics, and univ health care, and we came close to winning the nomination which eventually went to the next president, Bill Clinton. The many green ideas we brought forward continued on in the Green Platform which your siterunner was the key drafter and Jerry and his ideas and agenda carried on in California. To this day, Governor Brown is out in front with model initiatives for change. Decades now, day-to-day, Jerry has been hard at work to make a difference and create, with vision, a better world.
Here's a nod of our green hat to Jerry Brown -- a principled visionary, making it happen.
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Today the press reports -- California leads the nation and Jerry Brown's point of view? “What happens here doesn’t stay here. It goes all around the country and all around the world.”
The 'greening' results are showing... Transportation High Speed" -- Energy -- Climate Change -- working with Arnold who added real environmental Muscle
Jerry's 'We the People' 1992 presidential campaign in Michigan
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- Out in Front Regionally on Climate Change
http://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/Pacific_Coast_Climate_Action_Plan.pdf
http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/California_out_in_front_in_a_Green_future
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- Confronting Historic Drought-Climate Change
April 2015 -- Brown orders California's first mandatory water restrictions: 'It's a different world'
Standing in a brown field that would normally be smothered in several feet of snow, Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday ordered cities and towns across California to cut water use by 25% as part of a sweeping set of mandatory drought restrictions, the first in state history.
http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=18910
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Challenge and Best Practice Solutions...
In his re-election victory speech Tuesday night, Brown mentioned Props 1 and 2 as being vital to his goals as governor.
"Save money, save water, those are two pillars," Brown said.
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November 2014 - the State of California under the leadership of its green governor, Jerry Brown, passed a set of laws, with Proposition One at the center of a wide-ranging plan to encourage a range of water conservation usage and saving measures, California again out in front of national/global efforts to deal with climate change/drought.
Having led the effort to shape and urge passage of a top state priority in the 2014 election, the Governor succeeded as voters passed Proposition 1 – the Water Quality, Supply and Infrastructure Act of 2014 – by a margin of 67%-33%. Proposition 1 provides $7.5 billion in new and redirected bond funds for a wide range of water related projects that will:
• Protect rivers, lakes, streams, coastal waters and watersheds • Provide regional water security, climate and drought preparedness • Provide public benefits through a wide range of water storage options that demonstrate improvement to the state water system, cost-effectiveness and net improvement in ecosystem and water quality conditions • Promote water recycling • Improve drinking water quality • Provide increased flood protection
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California Launches Program to Protect Farmland & Climate
The California Climate and Agriculture Network (CalCAN)is a coalition that advances sustainable policies to support California agriculture in the face of climate change. http://calclimateag.org/about/
The goal is to "integrate funding for permanent agricultural easements with urban land use projects to maximize the gains in reducing greenhouse gases linked to vehicle miles traveled and urban development. This is the first program in the country that invests in farmland conservation for its climate benefits."
Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Guidelines
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