Congresswoman Lee Commemorates Official Joint Bio-Energy Institute Dedication
Press Release
For Immediate Release
December 2, 2008
Contact: Ricci Graham
(510) 763-0370
OAKLAND – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-09) released the following statement today to commemorate the official dedication of the Joint Bio-Energy Institute (JBEI) facility. Congresswoman Lee led the effort to secure $135 million in funding for the development of the JBEI:
“The official opening of the Joint Bio-Energy Institute marks another in a series of steps necessary to broaden our nation’s research into the development of alternative energy. Today, we are laying the foundation for the creation of an entirely new industry, not only here in my Congressional District but throughout United States.
“The JBEI will assist our efforts to create new and vital career opportunities at a time when our nation is losing hundreds of thousands of jobs to a faltering economy. The work that will be done by the JBEI will lead to the development of clean and sustainable energy solutions that will make our nation energy independent while ending our addiction to fossil fuels.
“One of the primary initiatives of the JBEI is the development of advanced, next-generation bio-fuels that we need in an effort to expand low-carbon fuel sources at a time when the world is faced with an environmental crisis that threatens to forever alter the way we live.
“The Department of Energy's plan to fund one of three Bio-Energy Research Centers here in my Congressional District provides the research community with a unique opportunity to harness the excellent talent and resources here at the Berkeley Lab and allows us to aggressively confront the energy and global climate-change challenges that we no longer can afford to ignore.
“Again, this is another step in a long yet necessary journey. But the work that will be done by the JBEI will bring us closer to our goals of creating truly clean and renewable energy sources that will carry us into a greener future.”
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