Los Angeles, CA (Nov. 13, 2009)—Warning against a ‘digital divide’ that will leave rural areas and minority groups out of the Internet age, the president of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) urged investment in broadband access throughout the Golden State.
Speaking Thursday at the Edmund G. "Pat" Brown Institute of Public Affairs (PBI) 17th Annual California Issues Conference, CPUC president Michael Peevey said residents of rural areas and Hispanics are the Californians least likely to have broadband Internet access.
“We have to close the digital divide and provide more people access to the Internet,” said Peevey, likening the importance of Internet access to that of the telephone in our history.
“The internet greatly increases people’s capacity for communication with neighbors and friends,” he said, adding how remarkable it is to see U.S. troops overseas using these technologies to reach home.
Peevey also cited the importance of Internet access for job seekers—all the more critical in the current economic climate. “If there is no Internet access, one’s less likely to find and obtain green jobs,” he added.
Green jobs and the green economy were the focus of PBI’s annual public affairs conference, which was entitled, "Building a Green and Inclusive California: An Infrastructure for the 21st Century." Approximately 250 people attended, including elected officials, leaders from business and academia, community organizers and students.
PBI Executive Director Jaime Regalado said the conference provided an opportune setting for experts across the sectors to explore the relationship between infrastructure and green development.
“In its current usage, the term ‘green’ implies that a service, product or technology is sustainable, which points to its economic and environmental viability and social relevance,” Regalado said. “As such, the issue of equity remains central to any discussion of sustainable growth.”
Regalado added that California is well-positioned to provide national and international leadership in sustainability by focusing on strategic investment in traditional and new infrastructures that will improve its economic and environmental condition, while ensuring that Californians enjoy green jobs and green development equitably.
“It is in the interest of California to capitalize on this opportunity in order to secure the state’s future and specifically, Californians’ quality of life, given the economic downturn and lack of available revenue resources,” Regalado said.
The conference began with a keynote address by Assemblymember Mike Eng, followed by informative panel discussions featuring an array of experts including Kerry O'Hare of Building America's Future, Samuel Kang of Greenlining Institute, and Denise Fairchild of Los Angeles Trade Tech College (LATTC) CED and CDTech.
A new feature of the 2009 conference was a special green lecture immediately following the conference with Interim Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, General Manager, S. David Freeman, on "Emerald City: The Green Agenda and Public Policy."
Sponsored by Southern California Edison, Kaiser Permanente, and other generous organizations, PBI’s conference was held at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
