September 1, 2015 Voice Your Opinions! Letters to the editor make a difference. You can send a letter of up to 200 words (shorter letters are more likely to be accepted) to the Alaska Dispatch News by email (letters@alaskadispatch.com); or by fax or mail (call them at 257-4308). Send letters to the Anchorage Press via e-mail editor@anchoragepress.com or by mail to 540 E. Fifth Ave, Anchorage, 99501. Feel free to call us if you need factual information to help you write a letter. Contact the Governor. The Governor can be reached at 269-7450; or www.alaska.gov. Contact us. My office can be reached at: 716 W. 4th Ave, Anchorage, AK 99501; by phone: 269-0106; visit my website at http://gara.akdemocrats.org; or email: Rep.Les.Gara@akleg.gov

Dear Neighbors:

The recent focus on climate change has raised a legitimate question. What has your Legislature done in this area so we don't just punt, and leave a difficult problem to grow for the next generation? Well, over some opposition, we and others have taken what I'd call solid, early steps that need to be expanded on, that save Alaskans money, and that will help reduce greenhouse emissions. There is a lot more to do, and we can both save money while taking positive action. If we care about fish, a fishing economy, wildlife and game, and eroding shorelines, we need to care about climate change.

In 2010, I and Republican Finance Co-Chair Bill Thomas co-authored and passed two bi-partisan pieces of legislation, and held them together during heated House floor fights.

First, we have passed legislation mandating that new and retrofitted State, University and Court buildings be built to COST-SAVING energy efficiency and energy saving standards. Then we did the same for school buildings in Alaska. This won't stop climate change, but it is the kind of action the state can take to do the right thing and help stem climate change. The saying is “the cheapest kilowatt is the kilowatt you don’t use.” Saving energy, reducing the use of greenhouse gas emitting fuels, and saving money are smart things to do, and in this area can go hand in hand. There's a lot more to do and it was easier when we had a bi-partisan Senate.

Thanks to Sen. Lyman Hoffman (D-Bethel) for letting us stick the energy efficiency amendment into a school bill he had filed. And thanks to Sen. Hoffman for taking a lead on starting Alaska's home energy efficiency/weatherization program, which has made housing in Alaska more energy efficient.

And I'm a proud co-sponsor of Alaska's Renewable Energy Fund, which helps start up renewable energy projects to save money across the state and reduce our expensive diesel use in many parts of the state. In its first year I worked with Sen. Hoffman to add an additional $50 million to this fund so we could start enough projects and not just study them.

For nostalgia's sake, here is an excerpt from our 2010 newsletter talking about the legislation we passed. And a link if you want energy saving ideas from our Alaska Energy Authority. www.akenergyefficiency.org.

Hope you are enjoying the fall!

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Excerpt from 2010 Newsletter:

The Greening of State Buildings and Schools: They’ll Be Energy Efficient

The Legislature made good, green progress this year too. I wrote about some of that recently. Rep. Bill Thomas (R-Haines) and I co-sponsored amendments to require that construction and retrofits of state buildings and schools comply with energy efficiency standards. It will save us money, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce the demand for natural gas and diesel. We think this was great progress.

We added the state building energy efficiency provision to Senators Bill Wielechowski and Lesil McGuire’s energy bill, SB 220. Rep. Thomas and I won on our amendment in the House Finance Committee last week by a 6-5 vote. On Friday House members tried to strip this provision from the bill on a House Floor vote, but we prevailed there, after debate, 27-13.

This provision was previously in my and Rep. Thomas’ energy legislation, and was in prior versions of legislation by both the House and Senate Energy Committees. Sen. Wielechowski’s office did great work helping us get this provision back in the bill. And House Energy Committee Co-Chairs Charisse Millett and Bryce Edgmon, who supported the provision, had it in their own bill, and worked with us on it over the past two years, were crucial in the effort to keep the provision in the bill during the Friday House Floor vote.

Rep. Thomas and I had an easier time passing an amendment Saturday to Senator Lyman Hoffman’s bill bolstering Alaska’s rural school construction efforts. That bill was co-sponsored by Sen. Kevin Meyer. With Sen. Hoffman and Meyer’s support, Rep. Thomas and I co-sponsored an amendment in the House Finance Committee Saturday to require that school construction comply with smart energy efficiency rules. That amendment passed unanimously as part of Senator Hoffman and Meyer’s SB 237.

My Best,