Dear President-elect Obama,



I served as Governor Jerry Brown's Secretary of Natural Resources, responsible for California's environmental policy, and was awarded the 2001 UN Sasakawa Environment prize. I would like to make three brief policy suggestions. [click to continue]

Carol of the Cranes, a gift of original music from RRI's Elizabeth
Baker, is available here. To listen or download, click here.

RRI conducted an in-depth review of the French national environmental plan. Overall the new policy includes 104 specific measures and will address sustainable production and consumption, protection of biodiversity, reducing environmental harm to human health, etc. It was developed through a national dialogue in 2007 that brought together the government, business, unions NGOs, and local authorities. RRI is preparing a report on the French Green Plan. A link to how the national dialogue was conducted is at: http://www.legrenelle-environnement.fr/grenelle-environnement/

A report by the World Economic Forum states that sustained economic growth, human security and political stability over the next two decades depend on how water is managed. "The volatility in food prices in 2008 should be treated as an early warning sign of what is to come," the report warns, and notes that most governments fail to realise how "intimately" other policies are linked to water policy, or simply refuse to introduce water-pricing policies by fear of losing elections. Governments and business need to address waste and overuse of water. As many noted, while economic stimulus plans will invest in improving agriculture, infrastructure, clean energy and trade, politicians "unfortunately rarely invest in improving the resource on which those outcomes depend: water". The report is available at http://www.european-waternews.com/download/WaterInitiativeFutureWaterNeeds.pdf