21st Century Green Tech

1. Jerry Brown to Speak at Green:Net 2010!

Jerry Brown to Speak at Green:Net 2010!

2010-03-22 04:00

Katie Fehrenbacher - Policy

Will Attorney General and former Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown be able to clinch a victory in his second California gubernatorial race and leverage his long history of supporting clean power and energy efficiency to get him there?

The election won’t be until November, but you’ll be able to hear from the man himself at our Green:Net conference. We’re excited to announce that Brown will be speaking at Green:Net 2010, which will be held in San Francisco on April 29, and will focus on how information technology — software, computing, communication networks — will be used to fight climate change.

As California governor more than three decades ago (in his thirties), Brown was an early proponent of using policy to kick-start the deployment of renewable power and energy efficiency technology. He delivered the country’s first building and appliance energy efficiency standard and passed tax incentives for homeowners to install solar panels. In terms of embracing information technology, Brown famously called for California to use a satellite for the state’s emergency communications system, a move that helped solidify the nickname “Moonbeam,” and a technology that is widely embraced nowadays (that’s GPS folks).

As Mayor of Oakland, between 1999 to 2006, Brown was able to help Oakland transform into a top-ranking green city, formerly known on the national stage largely for its high crime rates.

Now as California Attorney General, at age 71, Brown is still as aggressive as ever on fighting climate change and using his position to support clean power and clean air. His Attorney General’s office reportedly has no fewer than 15 attorneys working on climate change issues, and has been using the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to help cities battle global warming. He’s also been a strong proponent of using the Clean Air Act to enforce California vehicle emissions standards.

Given Brown only announced he was running for California Governor less than three weeks ago, the details of his positions on the state’s specific energy issues have yet to emerge. But Brown’s advisors have indicated that he will continue to support the state’s climate change bill AB-32. In contrast his chief opponent former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, has called for a moratorium on some of the rules in the global warming bill.

It will be a fierce race — Whitman is a strong candidate that is using her fiscal background to convince voters that only she can help California clean up its $20 billion budget deficit. While polls had been showing Brown has been slightly leading the race for some weeks, just this weekend polls are showing that Whitman has a tiny edge.

If Brown wins the governor office, it would make him the oldest governor in California history and the first to hold the office in nonconsecutive terms. Brown also ran for the Democratic Presidential nomination several times (one of his campaign slogans was “protect the earth, serve the people and explore the universe”) and he has about four decades of political experience.

Get ready to come to Green:Net to ask him the hard questions about the future of California and green technology — April 29 in San Francisco. Don’t miss it.