For those who don't know anything about Congresswoman Giffords

[garybeck]

I personally probably never would have heard of Congresswoman Giffords, except for my work in renewable energy. Her name has come up often as one of the most prominent proponents of renewable energy legislation in Congress. I receive press releases from her that focus on renewable energy issues regularly. She has introduced legislation to overhaul energy production in our country and expand use of renewable energy in schools and the military.

below is an example... from when she introduced the "Solar in Schools Act"

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U.S. REP. GABRIELLE GIFFORDS INTRODUCES BILL TO EXPAND USE OF SOLAR ENERGY IN SCHOOLS

Announcement is part of daylong tour of key solar installations in Tucson area

TUCSON – U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords on Thursday will announce introduction of legislation to make it more affordable for schools to install solar power systems.

Announcement of the bill, the Solar Schools Act, will come following a day-long tour that will highlight Tucson’s burgeoning solar industries, installations and research.

“School buildings are used most heavily during the day, during the same hours that solar energy generation is highest,” Giffords said. “Making it more cost-effective for schools to install solar-generating systems will lessen our dependence on foreign oil and save money for cash-strapped schools.”

The Arizona Leadership Solar Bus Tour will include more than 50 participants who tour some of Tucson’s most significant solar facilities.

“Tucson is rapidly becoming a national leader in solar-related businesses and in the installation of solar panels,” said Giffords. “The border area of southern Arizona is one of the best areas in the world for the generation of solar power, with more than 300 days of sunshine every year.”

Business and government leaders as well as people working in the solar industry will take part in Thursday’s Arizona Leadership Solar Bus Tour. The event is hosted by Giffords, the Arizona Economic Resource Organization, the University of Arizona and SCF Arizona.

Giffords, a member of the House Science and Technology Committee, is one of the leading solar proponents in Congress. Last year, she introduced the Solar Technology Roadmap Act which was approved by a bipartisan majority in the House in October.

In January, Giffords had nine solar panels installed on the roof of her Tucson home – a project that already has dramatically cut her electric bill.

The Solar Schools Act, which Giffords is introducing, will make it more affordable for schools to install solar panels to reduce their electricity costs.

.............snip

[2QT2BSTR8]

1. Do you have the link so I can read past the snip? thx

[garybeck]

2. yes, here ya go

http://giffords.house.gov/2010/03/us-rep-gabrielle-giffords-introduces-bill-to-expand-use-of-solar-energy-in-schools.shtml

[frazzled]

3. All I knew about her before today was ...

that she was elected in 2006. It was eerie for us to hear the news, because we immediately thought back to that early November day in 2006 that we showed up one Sunday afternoon at a Move On get-out-the-vote session in Chicago with our cell phones, and were asked to make calls to a congressional district in, of all places, Arizona. Some young person we'd never heard of named Gabrielle Giffords was running for the first time, and it was going to be an uphill battle. We sat there all afternoon calling people to tell them to get out and vote for Gabrielle Giffords, giving them the addresses of their polling places, etc. We weren't hopeful she'd win, but we checked in after the elections and saw she'd squeaked by. We felt like we'd played a tiny role in that and were proud that we'd taken the time. So today hit a chord with us.

I heard about her solar energy interests today, which apparently is not so unusual for an Arizona legislator of any stripe. I pray for her and her family, but just as much for the other victims struggling for their lives and those who, alas, were slain today for no comprehensible reason.