Georgia's business-friendly Republican governor is going green in a big way.

On Thursday, Gov. Sonny Perdue declared a new "culture of conservation" in a fast-growing state where every day the net loss of trees totals more than 100 acres, electric usage is among the top in the nation, and - until recently - water is generously lavished on lawns. public relations campaign aimed at rallying residents and businesses to conserve water, energy and land, Perdue ordered state government to reduce energy use 15 percent by 2020.

"I like to conserve money, but the way we do that is by conserving all over," said Perdue, wearing jeans and work boots at his first stop at the Pratt Industries recycling plant in East Point. "We want to make 'conservation' not a sacrificial word but a badge of honor."

Perdue likened his campaign to changing attitudes toward smoking and seat belt use. He said states that conserve "will be the proactive and progressive states of the future."

In a statement released later from a middle school in Warner Robins, the governor said reducing the state's energy use will "lessen Georgia's dependence on traditional energy sources, support the economy, and improve the environment. ... Undertaking this challenge to conserve energy will help ensure that Georgia's natural resources are protected for future generations to use and to enjoy."

The state Environmental Protection Division recently permitted a new coal-fired power plant in South Georgia, now being challenged in court by the Sierra Club. Most of Georgia's electricity is made by burning coal, the most environmentally destructive form of electrical power generation by nearly all measures.

Full Story: http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/stories/2008
/04/24/perdue_0424.html