It's official.

On Dec. 27, 2006 Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne announced a proposal to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act because of the loss of its sea ice habitat due to global warming. This proposal marks the first legally binding admission by our government of the reality of global warming and opens the door for lawsuits by environmental groups to reduce greenhouse gasses in order to protect the polar bears from extinction.

After years of whistling by the graveyard of “climate change” (the government's designated term for the warming of our planet) a major government official has stepped up to the plate of reality. While most scientists agree that our globe is undergoing climate change most admit that it is being accelerated by man-made pollution.

This does not mean that the government is jumping on the bandwagon of global warming with both feet. Recently, France called for a new environmental body of industrialized nations to convene for the purpose of drafting stricter rules governing world wide pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Forty-five nations answered France's call. Notably absent were the three largest nations responsible for polluting: China, India and the United States.

Even the general public is not that concerned - yet. The Pew Research Center, which monitors public opinion, shows global warming as 20th on a list of 23 policy concerns #- below terrorism, tax cuts, crime, morality and illegal immigration.

The chief culprit for producing greenhouse gas and pollution is the burning of fossil fuel. Naturally, any program to reduce pollution must focus on the elimination of fossil fuels. Our government has been dragging its feet on this issue, but many states and private industries are taking matters into their own hands.

€ Governor Brian Schweitzer of Montana (where 8 percent of the world's coal supply resides) is on a crusade to get the coal burning industries to “clean up their act” by developing technology for the gasification and liquefaction of coal in order to sequester carbon dioxide emissions.

€ Florida's Energy Commission is stressing energy conservation and more utilization of alternative energy sources. They are also planning additional nuclear power plants and hope to have the first one on line in 2018 (at least five other nuclear power plants are on the boards nationwide at this time).

€ When President George W. Bush was governor of Texas, he mandated the utilization of alternate energy such as wind and solar generators and established minimum criteria for utilization as a percent of total energy consumption. This program continues today.

Many other entities are involved in similar programs #- too many to mention here.

New York State (mostly through its private sector) is fast becoming a center for research, development and production of alternative and renewable energy.

A $64.5 million research and development center under construction in Syracuse will address environmental energy issues.

This brings us to Auburn and Cayuga County (readers of this column undoubtedly saw this coming).

Auburn has been a center of energy conservation, alternative and renewable energy long before it became politically correct #- fifty years ago to be exact. Now we stand on the cusp of, what promises to be, the biggest industry of the 21st century.

As our local business and government leaders grapple with the problems of rejuvenating Auburn and Cayuga County and bringing jobs to our community, the best solution lies beneath our feet in the many installations of Geo-Thermal buildings in operation and under construction locally.

Is there an alternative energy technology center in our future?

Harold Miller is a businessman and Auburn native. He may be reached at hmillermod@aol.com