Water is our greatest and most important resource. Roughly one-tenth of America’s surface water runs through Alabama. As a result of being so blessed by abundant water resources, we must be good stewards of this precious commodity.

Alabama has not escaped the negative effects of the Great Recession. This is especially true in rural Alabama where the unemployment rate has been in double digits for several years. For many years, these areas have produced thousands of jobs in our agriculture industry, but as of late, those jobs have been slipping away. When agriculture does well, Alabama does well.

In 2010 the top five commodities in Alabama (broilers; cattle and calves; greenhouse/nursery; chicken eggs; cotton) added a combined $5 billion to our economy. In addition to pure revenue, agriculture also affects our economy as a result of the jobs and products produced each year. Without a healthy agriculture system, Alabama will suffer.

Renewable energy has the potential to become a major economic factor in Alabama, but it has not yet become the reality that we had hoped for. Electricity from solar and wind have yet to prove their feasibility for Alabama.  Geothermal heat sources are not available here.  Hydro-power is already a major source of our electricity, and the capacity of our rivers as power sources is fully utilized.