The chair of L.A.'s municipally-owned Department of Water and Power outlines how the city will build up its portfolio of green power by 2010.
"Without a doubt, the largest single source of L.A.'s energy comes from the filthiest of fuels: coal. Nearly 50 percent comes from coal, 29 percent from natural gas, 9 percent from nuclear, about 7 percent from large hydro, and the rest from renewable resources. Last year, we doubled our renewable resources. That is the basic profile, and it gives us an emissions footprint that is not enviable. It means that we have to do more than other utilities in order to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. We've made a lot of progress recently, and we're possibly the first utility to register with the Climate Registry and state exactly what our emissions are, but we have a long way to go."
"I also believe that Los Angeles can exercise business leadership here. We should try to be the incubator and the center for the renewable technology industry. We should foster an environment where innovation and creativity can flourish, and if we can do that we will reap tremendous benefits. We'll manage to create, right here, an exportable commodity that will be in great demand in places such as China and India, and other places, as they start to grapple with the side effects of economic expansion. Those are some reasons why I think it's beneficial and necessary for us to pursue a course of vigorous diversification."
Thanks to Josh Stephens
