I was recently honored by an invitation from the Conference of Montreal and Hydro Quebec to speak at the International Economic Forum of the Americas. The subject of the session was Energy and Climate Change, and my speech was supposed to discuss Vermont’s approach to meeting our energy needs while at the same time controlling greenhouse gas emissions.

As the international audience adjusted headphones to listen to interpreters translate my words, I talked about the first time I flew into Shanghai, China. I picked up the newspaper, where the front page showed a photo of a politician hugging a Chinese astronaut. They were celebrating China’s entry into the Space Club, joining Russia and the US. Then I noticed an article on page seventeen, about a poll that had asked the Chinese people, “What is more important to you: for China to have a clean environment, or for China to be a leader in space exploration?”

Seven out of ten Chinese answered that they would rather have a clean environment.
I told the audience about the Chinese expression I learned -- "Same Bed, Different Dreams”—illustrating how when people do not share common dreams, there can be conflict.

Good leadership, I said, is about creating “Same Bed, Same Dreams”. Clear vision helps us reconcile our need for energy with our need to protect our environment.

I talked about flying, as a pilot, into Los Angeles, and descending out of perfectly clear skies at 5,000 feet -- into the smog-filled skies. I talked about having to transition to instruments, because of the smog-reduced visibility. I have seen the same conditions in Mexico City, Salt Lake City and other great cities. I recalled flying over coal-fired power plants of the upper Midwest, and seeing the smoke trails drifting northeast along the St. Lawrence River Valley.

“We are all in the same global bed,” I said. And as Quebecers will tell you, they are the tailpipe of North America. All of the emissions generated to our west exit our continent via Quebec.

So, how do we go about creating Same Dreams? How do we respond to our citizens' growing need for energy, while at the same time improving our air quality and seeking to decrease our contribution to greenhouse gases?

I believe that the Kyoto Protocol has done a great job of creating “Same Dreams”. While the United States has not ratified it, we have been one of the first countries to adopt measures to reduce greenhouse gases. I made the point that Kyoto has spurred our market economy into action.

Meanwhile, I noted, a number of states in the U.S. have adopted their own climate change policies. And mayors of 141 US cities -- including Burlington -- representing nearly 31 million citizens in 35 states -- have signed onto the Kyoto Protocol at the local level.

Here in Vermont, it is a matter of well-established policy that energy decision-making must be done in such a way that our need for energy is balanced against our strong environmental ethic.

Vermont is fortunate to enjoy long-term sources of reliable power that do not contribute to carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide emissions. One-third of our power supply is clean hydro power from Hydro Quebec. Vermont Yankee provides another third with nuclear energy. Both provide reliable base load power for people, jobs, schools, hospitals and farms. The remainder of our power supply is a mixture of in-state renewable resources.

Vermonters should be proud of an energy portfolio where 26% of our in-state power is renewable. Add that to our HQ power, and more than half our overall supply is renewable. And our greenhouse gas emissions per megawatt-hour of generation is nearly two orders of magnitude lower than the U.S. average, at 0.06 versus 1.42 tons per megawatt hour.

Governor Jim Douglas, meanwhile, has enacted a Climate Change Action Plan for Vermont state government, and has worked with other states and provinces on regional greenhouse gas initiatives and action plans.

I told the audience about CVPS’ Cow Power -- Vermont’s innovative program that offers electricity generated from cow manure, which in turn helps Vermont farms and the environment. I talked about Efficiency Vermont, our first-in-the-nation energy efficiency utility, which has generated -- through efficiency measures – a grand total of over 200,000,000 kilowatt hours of energy. Through Efficiency Vermont's efforts in year 2004 alone, Vermont saved more than 58,000,000 kilowatt-hours of energy.

Like Quebec, most of Vermont's greenhouse gas emissions come from motor vehicles. Market-driven, choice-driven change has already generated a vigorous demand for hybrid fuel cars -- not just in Vermont, but nation-wide -- as well as a growing distribution system and demand for biodiesel and ethanol, both on the road and on the farm. But, I acknowledged, we must continue our work in this sector.

Reconciling our desire to protect our environment with the inescapable need to develop new energy sources is a classic exercise in the Chinese concept, and of transforming "same bed, different dreams" to "same bed, same dreams".