King of Sweden Visits Kettering
Désirée White
Issue date: 10/23/08 Section: News
Kettering's political repertoire extended this summer. First, in June, Senator and Presidential Candidate Barack Obama gave a compelling speech in Kettering's Recreation Center. At the end of September, the king of Sweden, King Carl XVI Gustaf, Jennifer Granholm, and both the Swedish and United States ambassadors visited to inaugurate a joint venture between the Swedish biogas company, Swedish Biogas International, and the city of Flint. Although the ceremony was only about a half an hour long, it created precedence not only in Michigan but also in the United States.
According to the speeches and the press conference that followed the ceremony, twenty percent of Sweden's public transportation runs on biogas. Within the next couple of years, their goal is to raise that to one hundred percent. Compared to Sweden's goals, the United States lags significantly. Late last year, the president passed a law that requires automakers' lines of vehicles to have a thirty-five mile per gallon average by the year 2020. While Sweden has little dependence on oil, the United States still struggles to escape from its grasp. Also, Sweden converts all of their municipal waste to some form of energy. Therefore, the country has no use for landfills. Again, Sweden showed its progressive thinking overtaking the agenda in the United States.
During the ceremony, speeches were given by Mayor Don Williamson, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, U.S. Ambassador Michael Wood, and Swedish Ambassador Jonas Hafstrom. Highlighting the job opportunities that will appear in Flint, the mayor enthusiastically welcomed the Swedish company. Michael Wood, originally from Flint, told his story of how and why he became an ambassador and his journey to the introduction of the new company. Mr. Hafstrom explained how his culture embraces the age of new energy. All of the speakers showed their enthusiasm for the company's venture into Flint. Not only will the company set up a plant here in Flint, but it will also be working directly with Kettering in terms of research.
The ceremony ended with the speakers and the king "breaking ground" from the site of the new Center of Energy Excellence. All were excited at the prospects this will bring to Flint, Michigan, and the United States.
According to the speeches and the press conference that followed the ceremony, twenty percent of Sweden's public transportation runs on biogas. Within the next couple of years, their goal is to raise that to one hundred percent. Compared to Sweden's goals, the United States lags significantly. Late last year, the president passed a law that requires automakers' lines of vehicles to have a thirty-five mile per gallon average by the year 2020. While Sweden has little dependence on oil, the United States still struggles to escape from its grasp. Also, Sweden converts all of their municipal waste to some form of energy. Therefore, the country has no use for landfills. Again, Sweden showed its progressive thinking overtaking the agenda in the United States.
During the ceremony, speeches were given by Mayor Don Williamson, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, U.S. Ambassador Michael Wood, and Swedish Ambassador Jonas Hafstrom. Highlighting the job opportunities that will appear in Flint, the mayor enthusiastically welcomed the Swedish company. Michael Wood, originally from Flint, told his story of how and why he became an ambassador and his journey to the introduction of the new company. Mr. Hafstrom explained how his culture embraces the age of new energy. All of the speakers showed their enthusiasm for the company's venture into Flint. Not only will the company set up a plant here in Flint, but it will also be working directly with Kettering in terms of research.
The ceremony ended with the speakers and the king "breaking ground" from the site of the new Center of Energy Excellence. All were excited at the prospects this will bring to Flint, Michigan, and the United States.
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