As former vice president Al Gore sits in possession of a shiny gold statue called Oscar for his documentary about global warming, it should come as no surprise that a leading politician in Wisconsin has also taken a step in the right direction to get the state's energy issues under control. Gov. Jim Doyle recently proposed a tactical plan to promote energy independence and to drum up healthier and more efficient usage of fossil fuels in the state of Wisconsin. These innovative steps to be taken by the governor and the state as a whole will absolutely make Wisconsin the frontrunner in the race for energy independence and will help find a solution to global warming.

Despite the fact that Gov. Doyle offered up Wisconsin's "Declaration of Energy Independence" a year ago and minimal detectable changes have really been made, the governor deserves praise for getting down to business on these hot-button issues now. The declaration outlines a threefold plan and sets a timeframe in which the goals should be accomplished. Gov. Doyle wants Wisconsin to produce 25 percent of its electricity along with 25 percent of its transportation fuel from renewable resources by the year 2025; the governor named this primary leg of the plan "25 by 25," according to a recent press release from Gov. Doyle himself. Secondly, Wisconsin will work to obtain "10 percent of the market share for the production of renewable energy sources by 2030," as this achievement would provide countless jobs to people who would no longer utilize foreign fossil fuels.

This secondary step of the plan would also lather up more than $13 billion for our state's economy by 2030, the governor said. Finally, the third step in the "Declaration of Energy Independence" would put Wisconsin at the forefront of energy research as well as lead to many exciting job discoveries. All in all, the governor's three-step plan covers all the bases: We will be lowering our excessive and unnecessary use of foreign fossil fuels, raking in more cash to rev up our economy and putting Wisconsinites to work.

While Gov. Doyle is most definitely doing his part in encouraging the people of Wisconsin to be more energy efficient, we cannot give him all the credit. According to a press release from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, our great state is the most recent to join several other Midwestern states to advocate for a "regional renewable energy tracking system." Called the Midwest Renewable Tracking System, the program works vigorously "to help participants meet their renewable energy standards and objectives." Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, the province of Manitoba and Wisconsin have joined forces to combat inefficient energy consumption in the Midwest and will aid in accomplishing Gov. Doyle's objectives on time. Midwest Renewable Tracking System's intentions are honorable and strongly agree with the Public Service Commission that "this agreement marks a milestone in meeting the region's renewable energy goals and promotes more renewable energy development." Hey, a little step for Midwest Renewable Tracking System could mean a giant step for Midwestern-kind.

With all the benefits and perks that will, no doubt, result from Gov. Doyle's plans and Midwest Renewable Tracking System's efforts, I struggle to see any potential downfalls and mishaps. According to a recent news release from the Wisconsin Public Power, Inc., Gov. Doyle named Wisconsin Public Power CEO Roy Thilly the co-chair of his Global Warming Taskforce. Also, according to the governor's release, he appointed Judy Ziewacz — the current deputy secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection — to serve as the executive director of the Office of Energy Independence. Therefore, regardless of these two capable and experienced individuals backing Gov. Doyle and heading up two of his practical programs, my only conflict lies in the general verbosity of some of the governor's goals. For example, according to a Wisconsin Public Power news release, one of Mr. Thilly's tasks as co-chair will be to "advise the governor on ongoing opportunities to address global warming locally." That sounds like a lot of aimless chatter about goals we are already working to achieve. Furthermore, Mr. Thilly will "identify specific short and long term goals for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in Wisconsin." Again, isn't that something that should have been tackled a while ago? Well, better late than never.

Overall, I believe that Gov. Jim Doyle and his disciples' plans to address our state's energy concerns are exciting, poignant and long overdue. Aside from some inevitable wordiness, I give his efforts and self-initiated programs two thumbs up. Therefore, if his "Declaration of Energy Independence" is anything like our nation's famous document, I encourage all Wisconsinites to pick up the nearest quill pen and put down a John Hancock as soon as possible.

Meredith Togstad ([email protected]) is a sophomore intending to major in journalism and French.