Governor's Remarks at National Hydrogen Association's Annual Convention Monday, 03/13/2006 10:15 am

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Hydrogen Conference here in Long Beach, California. I’m very sorry that I can’t be with you this morning, but I’m still here in Sacramento working on our infrastructure package, the Strategic Growth Plan that is so important for the future of California.

I know this is the second time in the last three years that you have chosen our state for this very important conference, and that’s exactly the way it should be, because no state is more committed to hydrogen than California, and we are very well on our way to a hydrogen future that will help our environment and our economy, and it will help us get rid of the dependence on foreign oil, which is so important.

You see, when I ran for governor I talked about the benefits of hydrogen power, and everyone said that it couldnâ€™t be done, that it is years and years away,. Yet here we are, a little bit more than two years later, with more and more businesses proving that hydrogen power is not just the energy of tomorrow but the energy of today. And the last project is a perfect example of that. It’s an extraordinary partnership between AC Transit, Chevron Technology Ventures, UTC Power and ISE Corporation and many others. All of them got together to put the state of the art hydrogen fueling station in Oakland, and that is something to celebrate. This is so important to me, to my administration, and to the state of California, because we are committed to clean air.

I remember just two years ago standing in Santa Barbara with the ocean behind me and laying out my vision for California’s environmental future. That day I made it clear that one day we would have clean air, clean water, and clean power. And that’s why I am an environmental warrior for this state, and that’s why I launched California’s Hydrogen Highway, to help us to get clean-burning cars on our roads. We already have several hydrogen fueling stations in our state, but we are investing millions more to line our freeways with additional stations so that lower emission hydrogen cars can travel up and down our wonderful state. While everyone else is talking about energy independence, California is actually doing something about it. We create action, and I’m proud that we are leading the way to the hydrogen future.

But we are not just stopping here. Since I came into office we have adopted a number of great environmental programs; for instance, the Ocean Action Plan, the Million Solar Roof Initiative, the 25 million acre Sierra Nevada Conservancy, the Carl Moyer Act, the Renewable Energy Portfolio, and the most ambitious greenhouse gas emission standards in the world.

But this is about more than just the environment. It’s about cutting edge technologies, jobs, and keeping California the kind of place that attracts businesses and employers from around the world. Now, some people think that you have to choose between a healthy environment and a healthy economy. We here in California have proven that we actually can do both.

So here’s the bottom line. California is the world leader in energy efficiency, we’re the world leader in solar energy, and now we are the world leader in hydrogen and alternative fuels.

So thank you very much to all of you again, thank you for understanding that I cannot be with you, and I hope I see you very soon. Have a good time, see you at the next Hydrogen Conference. Thank you, and have fun in California.