While touting the potential of renewable power but remaining mum about his former pet project--the “hydrogen highway”--Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said California will be the first state in the nation to reach energy independence while fighting global warming. During a May 13 speech at a meeting sponsored by the University of California, Irvine, and the Milken Institute, he called on business leaders and scientists to protect the state’s economic and environmental future. He urged energy and other industry leaders to think about the long-term benefits of investing in renewable resources. “Too many times, one thinks only about the next year or the next two years. Look at the long-term profitability and return,” he said. Schwarzenegger touted the climate protection law AB 32, the Million Solar Roofs initiative, his executive order to create a low carbon fuels standard, and the state’s green building initiative. John Bryson, Edison International chief executive officer, said Schwarzenegger is committed to investing in electric transportation, including plug-in hybrids charged with off peak power. Bryson insisted that electric vehicles were the only way to meet the growing transportation needs of Southern California while curbing greenhouse gas emissions.