Indiana does not appear to be a champion of green energy, with carbon emissions consistently putting us among the 10 biggest offenders in the United States.

U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh believes that this can change, however. The Indiana Democrat has strongly supported green energy in the Senate. He has voted for reducing oil consumption by 40 percent by 2025 and for the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which tackles many energy issues such as making ethanol more available by 2009.

He'd like to see his state do more to reduce its carbon footprint, and he described some promising breakthroughs that are in development.

"At Purdue, they're researching into more efficient ways to make ethanol using woodchips," said Bayh, who has an environmental rating of 100 percent from the Campaign for American's Future. "It's quite possible in the not-too-distant future, we'll have American farmers growing fields of rapidly growing trees that we then harvest for woodchips to make fuel to power our cars more efficiently."

Woodchip ethanol has a ways to go, though. You must process anywhere from 3,000 to 4,000 tons of woodchips a day to produce 100 millions gallons of ethanol a year.

Bayh's comments reflect what I have seen in my own experience, as a student in the automotive field. I have seen the beginning of change to alternative fuels that Bayh speaks about.  Various carmakers are investing in biofuels research, including General Motors, which is pursuing wider use of ethanol as an alternative to gasoline. In addition, last year in my automotive technology class at Central Nine Career Center in Greenwood, my instructor told us about an engine that runs on gasoline and steam.

As a senior, I am researching technical colleges to attend after high school. Many technical colleges, including Ivy Tech, now offer advanced courses on alternative fuels.

The market also is changing. Interest in hybrid technology has skyrocketed, and there is much more demand than supply of the vehicles in Indiana.

For most Americans, cleaner fuels won't be available overnight. In the meantime, we'll all have to take our own steps to be green.

As Bayh advises, "In the short run, the best thing to do is, besides conservation and [use of] higher-mileage vehicles, doing things to conserve energy."

Copyright 2008 Y-Press