Below is a portion of Kateri Callahan's keynote speech at the Atlanta Regional Commission's 2009 "State of our Region" Breakfast held at the Georgia World Congress Center on Friday Nov. 20, 2009.

Callahan is the President of the Alliance to Save Energy, and is a world thought leader in sustainable energy.

During her speech she stressed the need for Georgia's energy companies to get behind the green movement and to invest in alternative energy sources.

It may be a tall order for Georgia's traditional energy powerhouses.  One bright spot in the local green energy movement is the company Suniva.  Suniva makes fuel cells for solar panels.  This video explains the technology.

The highlight of the event was the closing video which featured Atlanta youth who drew postcards of what they thought the future of the city would look like.  Most of them had the same vision I had when I was a kid: cars that flew, sidewalks that moved and buildings that were suspended in the air.  They imagined living in a clean city.  I hope that is what we're able to help create for them.