If I were younger I think I would move to a state ...

... that is not growing by leaps and bounds.

The following is a missive from the Arizona Democratic Party:

Managing explosive growth will be one of the most important chapters in the "Story of Arizona," Governor Janet Napolitano told us in her State of the State Address on Monday.

In anticipation of the doubling of our state's population in the next few decades, we have made enormous strides in the past five years, the Governor said.

"We've added 652 new lane miles of freeway, and secured hundreds of millions more dollars for transportation projects. We've implemented a forest health strategy, created our first-ever statewide drought and water conservation plan, and worked to prevent wildfires. We passed the most significant air-quality legislation in a decade. And just last month, we signed an historic agreement among the Basin States to manage Colorado River water."

Growth will continue to challenge us all, and the Governor proposed strategic initiatives to protect our resources while building the critical infrastructure to eliminate the "time tax." She said we should:

Invest in rail transit, including a Tucson-to-Phoenix line;

Build on our water conservation efforts;

Send voters a statewide transportation plan to approve in 2008 or 2009;

Send voters a plan for state trust land reform to approve in 2008;

Enact an energy and climate change bill that would move Arizona's conservation efforts forward in the following ways:

• Require utilities to get 15 percent of their power from renewable sources;
• Require that 10 percent of fuel sold in Arizona is low in carbon emissions;
• Implement statewide energy conservation standards for new construction, replacing the patchwork of local rules that exists now;
• Implement new energy efficiency standards for appliances and new standards to reduce emissions of diesel exhaust.

Growth creates opportunities, and as we grow together, we must work to grow smart at every level of government. Please voice your support for the Governor's growth proposals by writing a letter to the editor, or by writing to your state legislators to ask them for their support, too.

For more information about Governor Napolitano's State of the State Address, or a copy of the speech, please visit www.azgovernor.gov

Please note that I have no quarrel with Janet Napolitano. I doubt, even if she was so inclined, that she could change the 'growth' mentality in the state of Arizona and she is probably a better manager than any Republican we have in the state. Still I am very sad about where Arizona is taking itself. It's a beautiful state but will not be so in a few decades if the signs are correct.

We, they or whomever is going to do to Arizona what was done to California. I don't know this because I thought ahead and tried to stop it. I know this because I've lived and participated in it. Even benefited from it. Nothing (not hippies, not Edward Abbey, not global warming) will stop humans from fowling their own nest in the name of growth, economy, wealth and opportunity. Nothing until the last shoe drops, that is.

Have a good day!