Remarks by Deputy Secretary Rich Rominger "George E. Brown, Jr." Salinity Laboratory University of California Riverside, California - January 21, 2000 Release No. 0025.00 Remarks As Prepared for Delivery by Deputy Secretary Rich Rominger "George E. Brown, Jr." Salinity Laboratory University of California Riverside, California January 21, 2000 "Thank you very much, Dr. Horn. To Marta Brown and the family of Congressman George Brown, it's a great privilege to take part in this dedication. My thanks to Chancellor Orbach, to Congressmen Ken Calvert and Jerry Lewis for all you've done -- with President Clinton's support --to make this day possible. Through legislative proposals and action, you've given us the chance to honor a man who for more than 45 years brought honor to California, to public service, to the U.S. House of Representatives, and to the advance of American science and technology. "When we dedicated this Laboratory back in 1995, we celebrated our research capacity. We recognized the vision of Congressman George Brown for the study of salinization to deal with extensive domestic and global problems with irrigated agriculture and water quality. Today we celebrate the man himself. "George Brown's life had a constant theme: applying science and technology to human need. It was an ongoing celebration of learning to give folks a better life. The message today is that the constant process of discovery that George Brown loved continues in his name. As the Congressman once said, "From my earliest days ... I was fascinated by a utopian vision of what the world could be like. I've thought that science could be the basis for a better world, and that's what I've been trying to do all these years." "The U.S. Salinity Laboratory is just one example of what George Brown accomplished. This is the only national lab charged with responsibility for basic research on the effect of salts on plants, soil productivity, and sustaining irrigation. During its long history of scientific accomplishment, scientists here have developed an understanding of salinity-irrigation relationships, worked on diagnostic measures of salinity in soil, and developed irrigation management schemes for avoiding salt buildup in crop fields. This lab plays a critical role in the national science network that's developing technology alternatives to methyl bromide. "In many ways, this lab reflects the character of Congressman Brown. As non-parochial as George Brown was ... as broadly dedicated to science for the greater good, this facility exists to develop knowledge about environmental problems that are global and urgent. This cutting-edge center has developed a world-wide reputation for excellence ... for international exchange and education. Major organizations like the U.S. Agency for International Development and the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization depend on the technology developed here. For Canada, India, Egypt, Israel and The Emirates, this lab is a model for their own salinity research. "This is a world class facility for a world class problem. Productive agriculture across the globe loses about 25 million acres of land each year to salinity and related problems. Here in the U.S., crop yields are cut short every year on about 30 percent of irrigated land because of salinity. That figure is even higher 50 percent or more in other nations. "Irrigation, salinity, and water quality go hand-in-hand, a complex relationship USDA watches closely. Last month, we released our National Resources Inventory. That's a five-year check-up on the health of our private lands. Beyond the situation that exists here in the West, the NRI found that increasing irrigation in the eastern U.S. is also boosting competition for water there. On a related front, USDA is moving forward with a new $120 million research initiative that includes national resources management and that's geared toward small and medium-sized farmers. And earlier this month, Vice President Gore said the Administration will ask for more than $1 billion in the 2001 budget for conservation programs to help family farmers protect water supplies from pesticide and nutrient run-off. "I think Congressman Brown would appreciate these efforts. He pushed for family farmers with the same vigor he pushed for the Salton Sea and human space exploration. In everything, he recognized the importance of investment in future generations ... preservation of the family farm way of life, preservation of natural treasures, and a deep sense of the importance of science education. Brown saw the future because he was a scholar of the past. It's said that in his 35th year in Congress, he continued to take time to read the works of the ancients -- Greek, Roman, Eastern, and Middle Eastern thinkers. Brown probably knew of the work of W.C. Lowdermilk. In the 1930s, this USDA soil conservationist followed the westward course of civilization from the Holy Lands of the Near East to the Pacific Coast of our own country. What he found were the graveyards of empires done in by silt and salt. "Recognizing the threat of salinity, the need for stewardship and the power of a sustainable agriculture, George E. Brown has passed the torch. It's going to be tough -- there aren't enough physicist-engineer-politician- humanitarians to go around. But we will all do our best. And this lab, in the Congressman's name, will be a constant reminder of what we can accomplish through science and technology to create a better world. "Thank you."