As a young man, I worked summers picking up the trash and refuse left by visitors at Presque Isle State Park on Lake Erie. It gave me an early appreciation for our natural heritage and introduced me first-hand to the delicate relationship between people and their environment. At the time, the prognosis for Lake Erie was not very good. It had been pronounced "dead" by scientists. These early experiences opened my eyes to environmental issues.

Lake Erie is now in full recovery from those years of environmental neglect. That remarkable restoration was brought about through the vigilance of state and federal governments and efforts of organizations like P3ERIE, the Pollution Prevention Partnership for Environmental Responsibility In Erie. P3ERIE is a partnership between DEP, the private sector, educa-tional institutions and Pennsylvanians dedicated to preventing pollution at its source to protect the Lake Erie watershed's delicate ecosystem. A few years ago in Pennsylvania, environmental partnerships like these were not even an option. Government was in one camp, Pennsylvania's citizens in another.

I made a commitment that, if I were elected Governor, I would do everything in my power to refocus DEP on pollution prevention and energy efficiency initiatives, and forge a working partnership with Pennsylvania employers. With the creation of the Office of Energy and Technology Development (OETD), we've managed to replace a policy of confrontation with one of cooperation. We've not only changed the agency's name — from the Department of Environmental Resources to the Department of Environmental Protection — we've changed its culture, mission and attitude.

Now in its second year, OETD serves as the keystone of DEP's new vision for environmental management. That vision — to move beyond simply regulating and cleaning up pollution, to preventing pollution before it happens — is central to our commitment to preserve and enhance Pennsylvania's environment. To put the concept simply in the context of my time working at Presque Isle: We all need to be responsible and pick up the trash we each make.

In 1997, OETD continued the bold initiatives it began in 1996 — helping Pennsylvania's small and medium-sized businesses comply with environmental laws and policies and, in many cases, go beyond compliance. I invite you to take advantage of the new services offered by DEP and other state agencies. Considering the environmental impact of all decisions we make is not only the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do.

Tom Ridge
Governor