Congresswoman Giffords continues push for solar energy

TUCSON—Gabrielle Giffords wants Congressional District 8 to become the “solarcon valley of the world.”    

The one-term Democrat has become a leader on renewable energy, especially that from the sun, in the U.S. Congress, and she wants to continue that effort if re-elected, Giffords said Monday night.

Giffords spoke nearly nonstop for 45 minutes about District 8’s many environmental issues at a small gathering in Tucson that included members of the local environment community, including leaders of the Audubon Society, the Sky Island Alliance, and others.

Giffords’ opponent, Republican Tim Bee, was unable to attend the forum because of a scheduling conflict.

Giffords told the crowd of about 100 that she is proud of having brought the solar issue to the fore over the last two years.

“What I am most proud of is the fact that people are talking about solar energy now in a big way,” she said. “Two years ago, when I first went to Congress, I could not remember any public policy leader speaking about solar as a driving economic factor for the state of Arizona.”

Giffords fought throughout the recent congressional session to renew federal tax credits for alternative energy users to no avail, but she was able to get them passed, she said, as part of the recent economic bail-out legislation in part by making her yes vote contingent on the renewal of the credits. She said she is also pushing to get a large solar array installed at Davis Monthan Air Force Base, similar to one now in operation at a base in Las Vegas.    

District 8 is unusually rich when it comes to environmental gifts. The 9,000-square-mile area holds both the Santa Cruz and San Pedro River Valleys, as well as Southern Arizona’s famously diverse Sky Island mountain ranges.

The San Pedro River is the second most ecologically diverse area in North America, Giffords said, while lauding the leaders at Fort Huachuca, a military base near the river, for reducing the fort’s water consumption by some 50 percent.

In an election cycle that has examined the ongoing issue of earmark abuse in the U.S. Congress, Giffords admitted that not all earmarks are pork. She said that she is working to bring federal dollars to the district in defense of the environment here.

“Regardless of our political affiliation, we need to make sure that we preserve this environment, our home, for future generations,” she said.

The U.S. House passed a bill last session that would have reformed the 1872 Mining Act, which many enviromententalists and elected officials consider to be outdated and no longer in the public interest. While the reform legislation stalled in the Senate, where it is much more difficult to get something passed owing to the tight voting margins, Giffords said that she thinks the bill will begin moving again after the election.

Tim Hull is a freelance writer for the Green Valley News.