Friday, 09/28/2007 Print Version |
Governor Participates in Annual Border Governors Conference in Mexico, Day 2
GOVERNOR: Thank you very much for your nice introduction. And let me just say that it is—we all have been to many conferences in the past, and to many meetings and gatherings like this, and I would say that this one was, without any doubt, the most enthusiastic and the most energetic conference that we have ever had.
And so I want to say thank you very much to all the governors that have participated here today for their great work, and for their incredible and creative input, and for being such great visionaries. I also want to say thank you very much to Governor Bours for his unbelievable work that he has done for this conference here, and I appreciate your leadership in this conference. And also I want to say thank you so much for the wonderful gifts, especially this great humidor that was handmade right here in this state. I love that, with 100 cigars in there, so I’ll have plenty to smoke in the near future. So I want to thank you for that, and also for making us feel so welcome here. And also I want to join and single out Governor Elorduy because we share a border, but also we share a great friendship, and I always have enjoyed working with him very much, and he has done incredible work. He was very helpful to me in my administration, when you go up and when you go down, both of those times he was there.
And so I just want to congratulate you as you finish up the term in office, and you should be very proud of yourself, of the kind of things that you have accomplished. You have really served the people of Baja well. Let’s give him again a big hand for his great, great work. (Applause) And also I think we were all very honored that President Calderón was supporting us here, working with us on very important issues. It is extraordinary to have him be part of this great conference, because that means that he is taking us seriously, and he knows that this is important work that needs to be done.
And I agree with him about the migration being inevitable, and I think I also agree with him that it has to be safe and secure, and it has to be legal. I also agree with him that it is very important that we develop our economies and create the economic developments on both sides, that that will help the situation. It was extraordinary also that he gave us an hour outside in the other tent and talked to all of us governors about his challenges that he has as President of Mexico.
So I want to thank him again also for being here. And we are taking great actions here today with our Joint Declaration, and our partnership is stronger than ever, and we have laid a foundation for even more success in the future. And I can tell you that I’m really looking forward to, and I’m honored to be the next year’s Chairman of the Border Governors Conference, and to set even higher sights, and to have even higher goals. But I have to say at the same time, as I said yesterday, it will be very challenging to outdo this conference here, because I think that Governor Bours set the bar really high on every aspect, if it is with hospitality, if it is with efficiency, substance, organization, or just the setting. I mean, how do you beat this setting here? You can’t, I can tell you that. (Applause)
Now, we must continue to take on the big issues like immigration, economic development, trade, and also the environment. We must also find an agreement on climate change. This is the single biggest environmental challenge of our time; we all will suffer if we don’t take action. Now, it is very clear that we all have to take different levels of action, developing countries and developed countries. Yes, but there is one thing all have to do, and that is create really serious action.
As governors we have the responsibility to think not just about the next year or the year after next, but to think 15, 20, sometimes 50 years ahead, and what we do today when it comes to the environment and fighting global warming will have a tremendous impact on our children and on our grandchildren. So I look forward to next year, to a vigorous and spirited debate on this very important issue. I think this will be the No. 1 issue that we will be discussing next year, and I’m excited about what we can achieve. It is very clear that not one country or two countries, or three, can solve this problem of global warming. We all must work together.
And in the meantime, I want to invite all of the states that have not yet joined the Climate Registry to sign up and to measure your greenhouse gas emissions. Now remember that together, working as neighbors and friends, we will continue the great steps that we have taken today in our 25th annual conference. So I want to say again thank you very much. And if I can have the invitation, please bring it out—each one of you has at your seat an invitation to come next year to our conference, and this is our invitation. It goes to all the governors; you all have an invitation right there. And this is the ‘action slate’, they call it. So when you make a movie, when you’re ready to shoot, you go like this, and that sound means Action! And that’s the thing we’re going to create this next year, is a lot of action. So I will see you in California, I will see you in Hollywood. Hasta la vista, baby. (Applause)
