Earth Day: Don't Mind The Maggots, Just Reach tasteless Ground

Ok, Ok. So I used a Rolling Stones "Some Girls" reference in the headline.

But my point is -- if I have one -- that on the eve of Earth Day 2011, turn over over the environment appears as contentious as ever. For instance, on the late-night lineup of cable channel Abc Family, the Rev. Pat Robertson appeared questioning atmosphere convert as junk science. (My son had it tuned to the channel.)

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Really? Pat Robertson? (He's still alive?) I shouldn't be surprised. The brutal economic downturn and televised armed disagreement invading American living rooms on a daily basis have most of the country on edge. Politics is more heated than ever.

Environmental protections, atmosphere convert and clean energy look like luxuries genuinely jettisoned by people more interested in keeping a roof over their heads and food on the table. There's no fault in taking advantage of unease to push political agenda. Heck, leverage is the American way.

Yet, the issue transcends the conservative-liberal divide. Clean energy is not dinky to the granola-crunching Sierra Club member anymore. Wal-Mart is a huge proponent of sustainability and renewable energy. And Raytheon Co. Just won an energy Star Award for Sustained Excellence from the U.S. Environmental safety agency for "reducing energy intensity by 3 percent in 2010 and by 22 percent since 2007" and cutting more than 2 million kWh in 2010.

That's right, Raytheon, the Waltham, Mass.-based defense contractor that produces "missiles, smart munitions, close in weapons systems, projectiles, kinetic kill vehicles and directed energy effectors for the armed military of the U.S. And other allied nations," agreeing to yahoo.com finance.

Soon, I believe, a lot more of this clean energy stuff will make sense to J.Q. Public. Already, energy efficiency is entertaining into the angle hardware store in the form of light-emitting diode and covenant fluorescent technology and programmable thermostats. Heating and air conditioning fellowships are even getting into the solar mode, advertising exactly what it would cost the consumer to setup 10 modules.

Honest. In the Fresno Bee, which I still read despite being a casualty of its shrinking newsroom, an ad showed a ideas for ,000. Tax incentives and rebates drop that by about ,000, agreeing to the company. That's approachable pricing, especially with summer Ac power drains coming up.

On earthday.org, the site is trying to get people, organizations and corporations to embrace its "A Billion Acts of Green" campaign. The idea -- to pledge to live and act sustainably -- has reportedly received 45 million "actions" to date and seeks to register 1 billion in expand of the Earth Summit in Rio in 2012.

And why not? Many of these cost nothing.

For instance, T. Boone Pickens went big for wind power and now is investing in natural gas, joining with venture group Perseus in a 0 million deal to build a natural gas powered vehicle, agreeing to a story by Katie Fehrenbacher at earth2tech.com.

Natural gas is abundant. We've got a lot of it up on Alaska's North Slope (just wait for Sarah Palin to start talking about the gas pipeline) and huge domestic reserves in the Lower 48 that can be accessed by the increasingly controversial recipe of hydraulic fracturing.

There may be traction on the natural gas front soon. Deirdre Shesgreen reported in ctmirror.org that Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., is working with Pickens to "promote legislation that would furnish billions of dollars in tax incentives to spur the improvement and purchase of natural gas vehicles."

One of the first goals of the bill, dubbed the Nat Gas Act, should it pass would be to drive improvement of commercial trucks away from diesel and into the fold. But expect more stations colse to the country offering the fuel and more natural gas powered Honda Civics using them.

"It's abundant, it's accessible, it's American," Shesgreen quoted Larson as saying. "The events in the Middle East and the events that have happened tragically in Japan only added underscore the urgency behind this."

Ah yes. Security. There's the immediacy. Pickens also touts energy independence. Just check out his Pickens Plan website.

Advances also are being made in algae fuel, cellulosic ethanol and isobutanol. None of this should be partisan. It's just genuinely entertaining and could pay off with huge dividends.

And by dividends, I mean jobs.

That's what it's all about. Occasion in this commerce for me is personal. We're working to aid teachers to train the next generation for jobs in clean energy straight through the Valley patrimony Grant. The resources come from the Workforce venture Act. I'd like to see the kids from rural San Joaquin Valley communities with 20-plus percent jobless rates get a leg up in a growing industry.

But to get there, this nation's gotta chill on the rhetoric. And it comes from both sides. I can rip on the Republicans, but the greenies do the same thing.

In a story on Huffington Post by Brenden DeMelle, administrative director of desmogblog.com, about climate-related dangers of methane emissions from shale gas fracking, a commenter who goes by the name gdauth in case,granted perspective. DeMelle called his post "Highway to Hell," and I do appreciate the Ac/Dc Bon Scott reference.

"Let's see," writes gdauth. "Can't use natural gas, coal, oil, nuclear, hydro; what is left? Wind? Nope can't use that it kills birds.... I guess I will go home to my cardboard box under the bridge and cook my spam over a candle."

Yep, take a bite of the big apple. Just don't mind the maggots. It's a big issue and maybe we'll outline out how to get it all down.

Earth Day: Don't Mind The Maggots, Just Reach tasteless Ground