When I was younger, I remember someone quoting Samuel Clemens as saying something like, "A lot of people complain about the weather, but no one does anything about it". If he were alive today, Mr. Clemens might well make a similar remark about the state of energy in America. There are many people complaining about the present situation, but few are doing anything about it.

Rising prices for gasoline have made everyone who drives aware of the energy crunch. The extra money that goes into the gas tank is not going into our bank accounts, is not coming to the dinner table and is not taking us on vacation. So, are we helpless? Are making and finding more conventional energy real solutions?

Presidential candidate, Senator John McCain mentions renewable energy sources, nuclear energy, clean-burning coal, and increased drilling for oil including tapping offshore supplies. McCain's Lexington Project is a good read and sounds like a good idea, but how much of it is for real? When McCain speaks, he does not sound like the person who penned the Lexington Project. He gives "renewable" the sense of afterthought or it sounds good for the campaign. It is as if someone told him, "If you want to marry the presidency, you have to take the kids too". Yet, his eyes light up when he talks about his favorite children, nuclear power, oil, and coal. And, you thought Cinderella only had two sisters.

Nuclear, no matter how advanced, how safe or how clean, will always have the problems of waste and waste disposal. The waste just does not disappear. In addition, if a leak or a spill occurs, you cannot just wipe it up with a paper towel and make it better. Do the words Chernobyl and Three Mile Island mean anything to this generation? They do to our generation and we know the effects of these types accidents are far reaching and last for years.

Is clean-burning coal a solution? It is true that America has the world's greatest reserves of anthracite coal, but not matter how clean it burns, it still puts CO2 into the air and makes barren valleys out of what once were beautiful mountains. If you have doubts, take a drive through West Virginia coal country and ask residents how old mining and new mining techniques have changed their vista through the years.

As for increased drilling for oil, we all love oil. It lubricates the world economy. Nonetheless, we have to break or control the addiction sometime. Using oil the way we use it now is like being too many goldfish in too small of a bowl. With so many swimmers in the same water making waste, it is not long before the fishbowl becomes cloudy and unlivable. Conditions similar to those taught many a fish to swim on its side on the surface. Who is next? With oil, we will always run the risks of spills like the recent one on the Mississippi or the Exxon Valdez back in 1989. Oil and gasoline will always produce too much carbon, too much pollution and be too hard to clean up.

The other presumptive Presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama, says the energy words I want to hear and I do believe. He recognizes that our energy addiction cannot be dealt with "cold turkey", and he does have a plan with the goal of energy independence within 10 years. The beauty of such a plan not only lies in its feasibility, but also in its viability, its benefits and its directly involving the common American citizen. Both candidates' plans look very similar on paper, but they sound different coming from the mouths of their authors. Are you going to wait for them to help you, or are you going to act on your own? Personally, I could not wait to do my part, especially since it is something I have involved myself in for over 20 years. The future could wait no longer. I jumped on the Obama bandwagon and took my own energy independence to the next level, building on the gains already made.

It started in 1985 with compact fluorescent bulbs when the cheapest cost $25 each and the most expensive were a lot more. Over time, it expanded. Among other things added were energy efficient appliances, more insulation in the attic, an automatic, setback thermostat, two, electric lawn mowers, a number of deep-cycle batteries and inverters, and even a 1981 Mazda RX-7 converted to run entirely on electricity. This year, however, the Presidential campaign and the price of oil motivated the crowning achievement. I recently installed my own grid-tie, photovoltaic, solar array and will soon start making most, if not all, of my own electricity. I may even make extra to feed the grid.

The system uses 12, 224-watt solar panels made in America in Tennessee and a 2500 watt, grid-tie inverter to turn the Sun's energy into 2688 watts of electricity fed into the grid through my electric meter. The energy goes through the analog meter installed by the electric company and turns the meter backwards. What I take from the grid at night is fed back to the grid during the sunny hours of the day. Additionally, when I am not using all of the electricity I make, all of the excess goes into the grid and to my neighbors. The only nuclear power it uses comes from the Sun and, at over 93 million miles away, the threat of accident is minimal. The system uses no coal, no petroleum, and produces no emissions at all. It is clean energy in its purest form, a form the world recognizes and has used since time began.

The panels have a life expectancy of 30 years. During that time, they are projected to produce over 117,000 kilowatts of electricity, replace 200 barrels of oil, offset carbon emissions equal to not driving 208,400 miles, reduce acid rain by 900 pounds, reduce smog by 400 pounds and keep 83 tons of greenhouse gasses out of the atmosphere. Its effect on the environment is equivalent to planting 399 trees, and this is a very small system by normal standards. My neighbors may not immediately see the beauty of the rack in my backyard, but, in time, they will all breathe easier, live easier and come to appreciate the benefits of such a clean, renewable source of energy.

Yeah, people will continue to talk about the weather and talk about energy. We may not be able to affect the weather directly, but we all have the power to affect all aspects of the energy in our lives. I stopped talking years ago and started doing. This year, I was motivated even further and made my loudest noise to date, a noise that all my neighbors will hear and a noise that will benefit the entire country. I am not done. The next noise happens in November when Americans cast their votes for Barack Obama for President. With a President at the helm who understands the clean energy needs of this nation and the power of millions of solar panels lighting our way, America will see prosperity like never before. Now is the chance for all to stop complaining and to make actions speak as loudly as words.

(Author's note: For more information on the energy plans of both candidates, visit: www.barackobama.com and www.johnmccain.com. On both sites, there is a menu listing issues. Click the menu and read the ideas.)