WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Rod Smith thinks he's the man to bridge the gap between agriculture and environmental interests, long at odds over how to preserve Florida's green spaces and maintain clean water.

As chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Smith is well-versed in what it takes to keep the state's billion-dollar farming economy thriving.

But he says too many people think agriculture and a well-preserved environment cannot coexist.

In his environmental action plan released Tuesday, the Democratic state senator and gubernatorial hopeful notes that "the strategy of pitting interests of agriculture against those of the environment has failed in Florida."

"When a citrus grove is there, we have jobs, we have wildlife, we have green spaces, and all the benefits. When we replace it, we have sprawl,"

Smith said Tuesday. "It's a false choice for us to continue to accept the argument that you must choose between agriculture and the environment."

Smith's plan also calls for utility companies to diversify their power sources and rely more on renewable energy. It would set a minimum standard of a one percent annual average increase in renewable energy use by utilities by 2025.

Smith wants to make Florida a leader in efforts to reduce the effects of global warming.

The plan notes that Florida's agriculture sector is the nation's top generator of biomass waste, and that the state "should become the national leader in the production of biomass-based ethanol fuel production."

Smith's Democratic challenger, U.S. Rep. Jim Davis, has also called for more fuel diversity. The two major Republicans in the race for governor - Attorney General Charlie Crist and Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher - also support more crop-based fuels such as ethanol from sugar cane.

To those who say Smith's connection to agriculture is at odds with environmental protection, Smith counters that his intimate understanding of farming is exactly what's needed in the governor's mansion to create consensus.

The Sierra Club, which has endorsed Davis, called Smith's plan a cheap attempt to attract voters in the lead-up to the Sept. 5 primary election.

"Rod Smith is good at giving a quick sound bite but what's important to us is what has he done in the last six years, and he's been very harmful to the environment," said Curt Levine, head of the Sierra Club's political committee. He noted that Smith has voted to delay Everglades cleanup and loosen pollution standards.

"He seems proud to be the champion of big sugar and big farming, but we really need a champion of the public interest to make sure that all Floridians are taken care of," Levine said.

Smith is quick to note that, as a state attorney, he set up a task force in 1993 to prosecute polluters.

"It doesn't matter what you've done for my campaign, if you don't play by the rules, I'm coming after you," Smith said.

Eric Draper, policy director for Audubon of Florida and a Davis supporter, noted that while Smith isn't a "go-to person on environmental issues," his plan has some merit.

"Agriculture and the environment in the state do need to work together,"Draper said. "We see a place where the sugar industry and other agriculture interests have a future in Florida. In that sense, I am warmed to Smith's desire to do that."

The Davis campaign declined to comment.

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