"What is new is climate (and) carbon," Mr. Hanger said. "Nobody, until 20 years ago, considered carbon to have an environmental impact, that it was an environmental issue. ... There is carbon in the atmosphere and we are incapable of measuring the concentrations in the atmosphere and carbon concentrations are increasing.

"That's a fact and it's not subject to contest."

Fossil fuels

Asian coal is at $150 per ton and Appalachian coal at $75 per ton, Mr. Hanger said.

"When I served on the Public Utility Commission from 1993 to 1998, Appalachian coal was in the $20 to $25 range. We've had essentially a tripling in coal and that happened in a matter really of a few months. ... The odds are prices are going to go higher in a world at peace. You throw a few wars in the wrong places into the equation, and these prices are going to go through the roof."

There are critical bills in the Pennsylvania Legislature right now, Mr. Hanger said.

House Bill 220 is the first that would create major electricity conservation programs, and House Bill 1 -- two funding bills -- comes from the Senate and provides $650 million for alternative energy supplies over 10 years, and from the House, $850 million over six years.

Mr. Hanger said he believes renewable energy is on the rise, and within as soon as five years, someone may be able to walk out of a store with a home solar system. Within 10 years, a battery backup system will be available for purchase, he said.

Stacy Richards, program director of the Energy Resource Center of SEDA-Council of Governments, asked Mr. Hanger what a rural area should expect.

"It is critical that communities start figuring out how to assist families and businesses to use conservation," Mr. Hanger said, "whether it's as simple as providing forums for experts to come and talk and provide education."

n E-mail comments to gmorton@dailyitem.com.