We're learning to live off the land once again

We live in a political world, where everything seems to come down to a question of left or right.

Even the most innocuous of subjects can deteriorate into a liberal vs. conservative debate -- the weather.

Mention "climate change," let alone "global warming" in these parts, and you'll likely touch off a heated discussion mentioning people like Obama, Hillary Clinton and Al Gore.

Depending on your audience, you may hear about big oil, "tree huggers" or even "chemtrail" conspiracies.

But are "green," and politically, socially or fiscally conservative viewpoints necessarily in conflict?

We don't think so.

Take the aptly-named Greensburg, Kansas.

We remember weatherman Dave Freeman of KSN TV in Wichita, Kansas, reacting when he heard the news of the town's destruction by an F5 tornado on May 4, 2007.

Even a veteran Kansas meteorologist was nearly speechless in face of the worst twister of the worst tornado season in 50 years.

"Oh, my."

Bob Dixon and his wife huddled in the basement while the rest of his home and all of their belongings were carried off in the storm.

Rather than despairing at the loss, Dixson was inspired to run for mayor and oversaw rebuilding of an entirely new town, including a new hospital and school with "sustainable" architecture, wind turbines and solar panels all over town.

He told NPR that he had to get past the idea that being "green" was a liberal principle.

"When we drilled down closer to it ... we realized our heritage and ancestors were based on those sustainable, green principles," he said. "If you take care of the land, it will take care of you."

That wouldn't be news to our ancestors who settled in Southwest Nebraska and Northwest Kansas. They used what they had, and, it usually wasn't something bought in the general store.

On the treeless plains, snug shelters built from strips of native sod plowed out the prairie served as housing for the earliest European settlers.

"Wind chargers" provided the earliest, direct-current electricity, stored in wet-cell batteries, and diets were strictly organic, grown in the garden out back or traded from the neighbors. Raw, unpasteurized milk and cream were consumed on the farm, or left on the station cart for a train on an actual "milk run" to collect.

Our region is playing an important role in the energy industry now -- both in traditional oil, and ethanol biofuel -- and there's no reason wind and solar can't come here in a big way in the near future.

If Toyota's hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle turns out to be a success, and other manufacturers follow suit, there's also no reason some of our alternative energy sources can't go toward hydrogen production.

The earliest inhabitants of Southwest Nebraska and Northwest Kansas knew how to live off the land. As we work our way through the 21st century, it's a lesson we're learning again.

Check out the NPR interview here: http://n.pr/1janmvc