What Bush Can Learn From California's Energy Strategy

"President Bush could discover something important if he puts down his talking points long enough during his trip to California this weekend. Bush is using the visit to tout his energy policies; but the country would be better served if he took the time to learn from the state's energy strategy, which is emerging as an integrated alternative to the president's incomplete plan...California is pursuing the opposite strategy. It is formulating a series of mandates to speed the transformation toward an economy that uses less oil and emits less carbon dioxide. And it is imposing those mandates in the belief that they will bring jobs to the state by spurring technological breakthroughs — the historic engine of California's growth. Rejecting Bush's analysis, state leaders are aligning themselves with companies like General Electric that see great opportunity in the evolution to a clean-energy and low-carbon future."