Solar could unlock path to clean energy; the sooner the better

The man with gnarled hands was a legend in Skagit County.

Many in the Washington state farming region said he could find water in a desert. The man's name eludes me and I'm sure he passed from this world, but he developed a reputation for finding the shortest route to tap fresh ground water. He charged nothing, and people from all walks swore by his skills.

I feel like asking that old water witcher for his advice now. But rather than water, I'd ask him to work his magic on the clean energy industry. Maybe take that fresh-cut Y-shaped branch and point to the shortest route for unlocking thousands of jobs in the promising sector.

Kind of a wise man (or woman) on the mountain thing.

After several years of hype, the clean energy industry appears on the verge. Solar's finally looking like it's got the chops to compete. Biofuel breakthroughs may propel relatively cheap new sources of U.S.-made fuel into the domestic pipeline. And wind continues to kick up dust, not to mention a bubbly hillbilly cousin, geothermal.

Nuclear's Fukushima shuffle appears to have added shine to the green sector. Nuclear power's reliance on huge government subsidies don't help it much either. And Germany's backing off nuclear further burnishes renewables's image.

Clint Wilder, senior editor of Portland, Ore.-based consultant Clean Edge Inc., offers an explanation for the recent spate of news. "Follow the money," he writes in a post.

Businesses from a variety of sectors and borders are looking to cleantech for opportunity, Wilder says. Among the examples he mentions is a $1 billion investment by European oil giant Total in SunPower.

Adam Browning of grist.com reports that the global solar photovoltaic market went from $2.5 billion in 2000 to $71.2 billion in 2010. Browning also writes about how the New York Solar Jobs Act, which seeks to build 5 gigawatts of solar in the state by 2025, has attracted the promotional efforts of "The Bachelorette's" Ryan Park and spots on the CBS Super Screen in Times Square.

A number of sources predict solar will reach parity with fossil fuels, most recently General Electric's Mark Little, global research director, who in a recent interview with Bloomberg estimates five years.

The U.S. Department of Energy also has contributed to the effort, most recently allocating $27 million to standardize regulatory procedures, reduce fees and "reduce the overall costs associated with permitting and installation," officials say. DOE also has established a $12.5 million challenge to encourage cities and counties to compete to streamline and digitize permitting processes.

In California, my employer, the San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization, which largely administers clean energy grants for local governments, has uncovered a list of 93 solar projects in our valley that are either in the regulatory process or being proposed, and, according to California Department of Fish and Game, have little or no environmental impact to wildlife resources.

The projects represent about 8,600 megawatts and would cover about 64,000 acres. That's real progress and furthers the University of California, Merced's declaration of this as Solar Valley.

And I came across a juicy statistic in a piece by Michael Moynihan on Huffington Post about the new guy President Obama wants as Secretary of Commerce. Nominee John Bryson, former CEO of Edison International. Southern California Edison, looks like a good pick for cleantech. His legacy? A subsidiary of Edison International, writes Moynihan, buys 65 percent of all solar power generated in the United States.

The San Joaquin Valley contributes a big portion of that sun-harvested energy and will provide more, soon. My colleague and I have been saying for the past year that our region is a Petri dish for clean energy, with all its attributes. I hope we're right. With jobless rates in rural parts of this region pushing 40 percent and national rates climbing, we could use the economic activity.

The need couldn't be greater. The International Energy Agency says that after a dip in 2009 because of the global financial crisis, "energy-related carbon-dioxide emissions in 2010 were the highest in history."

The IEA says it estimates that 80 percent of projected energy-related emissions in 2020 are "already locked in, as they will come from power plants that are currently in place or under construction today."

But recognition of coming trouble is starting to dawn. While the topic remains ultra-controversial and mostly off limits in Congress, others in the international arena are less afraid to address the symptoms of climate change. The Associated Press reports that in Sao Paulo, Brazil at the C40 Large Cities Climate Summit officials from the World Bank and 40 cities from around the world pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is optimistic. "This unique partnership with the World Bank will help solve many of the problems that cities face in obtaining financing for climate-related projects," he tells the AP.

Sounds good, but it's likely just a drop in the bucket. Change, the saying goes, doesn't happen overnight.

We could use that old water witcher right about now. Maybe he's already here. Bill McKibben and his 350.org offer some pretty good directions on how to get there.

A Snapshot Of The Valley's Future

I'm going to borrow from the format of my former Fresno Bee colleague Bill McEwen, and note some San Joaquin Valley energy news and links that flashed across my computer screen in recent days.

In deference to Bill's always-interesting platter of newsy and often political nuggets that he labels "Breakfast links," I'll simply call my shorter version a "smattering of stuff."

I'll begin with the north end of the San Joaquin Valley, where electric vehicle manufacturer EVI credits a state grant for its ability to hire 50 employees. (Business Wire).

Environmental groups sue over alleged animal habitat issues associated with a solar project proposed for the Carrizo Plain in San Luis Obispo County, just west of us. The authors note similar concerns with solar plants proposed for the Mojave Desert, but not with projects eyed for the Central Valley. (KCET.)

The EPA exempts a natural gas power plant proposed for Avenal from new air pollution rules (New York Times.)

A Hanford dairy adds 4 acres of solar panels to become one of the first milk farms in Kings County to go with sun power. (Hanford Sentinel.)

One county over, in Visalia, a new biofuel plant breaks ground, courtesy of a $20 million federal grant. (sierra2thesea).

The Valley has lots of sun and land suitable for clean-energy projects, and it is close to major population centers. As this list shows, energy can be an economic game changer for us.

Reports Bolster Support For Clean Energy

Two new reports on clean energy - an emerging industry that is being knocked around like a tennis ball in this economic environment - are out.

The first, produced by a venture capital firm, takes aim at some of the arguments against alternative power sources. The other, generated by Pike Research, reports on 10 trends in clean energy for this year and beyond.

We link to them here and here.

In a study entitled, "Making the case for clean energy," officials with the private equity firm Hudson Clean Energy Partners attack central tenets among skeptics, including the belief that renewable energy is too expensive.

Hudson's study notes that the cost of producing renewable-energy technology is falling rapidly; that power from wind, solar and geothermal does not require feedstock and thus is not subject to commodity price fluctuations; and that the technologies are close to parity with conventional sources even without accounting for the cost in carbon emissions.

(That contention, by the way, was bolstered by General Electric last week when its global research director said that solar power may be cheaper than fossil fuels in five years.)

The Hudson report puts it this way: "It is apparent the... key arguments put forth by clean-energy technology skeptics are flawed or unfounded."

Pike Research, which studies clean energy, made some noteworthy observations about the future of the industry, including:

• The growth of utility-owned solar projects, particularly in California;
  
• More off-shore wind farms;
  
• An increase in water-borne solar arrays;
  
• Advancement of solar and wind technologies;
  
• Growth in waste-to-energy market in Europe and China;
  
• More geothermal development in the U.S., especially in California and Nevada;
  
• Direct current electricity may become more prevalent.
  
  

Can China hijack green energy?

Rare earth may determine the future of clean energy.

I'm not talking about Gil Bridges and Ray Monette of the rock band Rare Earth, noted for such hits as "Get Ready" and "I Just Want to Celebrate," although that does make a sort of poetic sense. The band is back together and touring, after all.

No, I'm talking about world domination by China of an industry so important, it's success or failure may mean the difference between survival and mass evacuation in low-lying countries like Bangladesh.

Much of the clean energy industry depends upon extremely obscure elements that have come to be known as rare earth. They have names like lanthanum, cerium, yttrium and neodymium and are used in the manufacture of electric car batteries, wind turbines and solar panels. China has spent the past several years locking up supply of these elements, planning ahead and banking on their value escalating.

And the stakes are high. The recent study, "Energy Policy," by Stanford University professors Mark Delucchi and Mark Jacobson says wind, water and solar could supply all of our energy needs in 20 to 40 years. While that may be unlikely given today's energy mix, the sector is sure to increase despite the domination of increasingly costly and damaging fossil fuels.

Rare earth elements, while relatively abundant in the Earth’s crust, are hard to find in "minable concentrations," as the U.S. Geological Survey explains in its 2010 rare earth report. Thus the problem -- and the name.

China, according to USGS, has reserves of 55 million metric tons, while the United States has 19 million metric tons. Both countries dominate known reserves. However, China is better positioned to take advantage of its mines.

"China accounts for 97 percent of the worldwide rare earth metal production and the country's new export quotas have caused prices to skyrocket," write Euan Sadden and Kerry-Ann Adamson of Boulder, Colo.-based Pike Research in the May 2011 report "Rare Earth Metals in the Cleantech Industry."

That means if a company wants to build batteries, wind turbines or solar panels, it likely must get its materials from China. However, the Chinese are hardly slouches at trade and their manufacturers have already begun to dominate production of solar panels. Analysts say they intend to the same with the rest of the cleantech industry.

U.S. and European companies looking to build the massive collector sites for wind may find themselves with no other competitive alternative other than purchasing from Chinese suppliers. And for an emerging industry dependent upon falling prices for more universal adoption reliance on a single source could be bad. Real bad.

Ian Fletcher, author of "Free Trade Doesn't Work" and Huffington Post blogger, frames the debate in simple terms.

"Why are they important? For example, the so-called rare earths among these materials are needed to make the super-strong magnets that are needed whenever you want to mechanically generate (or consume) electricity efficiently," Fletcher writes in a recent post. And he says that according to estimates in the recent book "Red Alert," by Stephen Leeb, a 3-megawatt wind turbine contains about 2 tons of rare earth metals.

"Even a humble Toyota Prius contains 22 pounds of lanthanum in its battery," he says. "No lanthanum, no electric cars."

But the news isn't all bad.

Fletcher noted that Congress in 2010 passed the Rare Earths and Critical Materials Revitalization Act, which states that it is meant to "to assure the long-term, secure, and sustainable supply of rare earth materials sufficient to satisfy the national security, economic well-being, and industrial production needs of the United States."

This apparently kept the Mountain Pass mine in California's Mohave desert in domestic hands. Fletcher said Australia similarly checked a Chinese buyout in 2009.

Activity at the Mountain Pass mine, according to USGS, resumed operation in 2007, producing refined rare earth products. The federal agency's report also detailed efforts to develop other commercial-grade mine sites, saying that investment and exploration "surged" in 2010. Sites included Bear Lodge in Wyoming; Diamond Creek in Idaho; Elk Creek in Nebraska; Hoidas Lake in Saskatchewan, Canada; Lemhi Pass in Idaho-Montana; and Nechalacho (Thor Lake) in Northwest Territories, Canada.

Other sites included Dubbo Zirconia in New South Wales, Australia; Kangankunde in Malawi; Mount Weld in Western Australia, Australia; and Nolans Project in Northern Territory, Australia.

The jury's still out. China's in serious production mode as only a state-controlled economy can dictate. But U.S. capitalism has a way of overcoming challenges. The clean energy industry, at least from a purely job creation perspective, offers some very good opportunities worldwide.

It would be nice for the home team to win this one or at least become a World Cup scale competitor.

In the meantime, the band Rare Earth offers this bit of wisdom I'd like to see implemented: "Fe Fi Fo Fo Fum, Look out baby now here I come."

Banking On Energy Retrofits

One of the largest banks in California says it will finance $55 million worth of energy-conservation improvements in older buildings.

Bank of America will provide low-interest loans and grants to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) that specialize in financing energy-efficiency improvements. The bank will select 12 community development lenders throughout the nation.

Bank officials said the program is a way to address climate change.

"Residential and commercial buildings account for approximately 40 percent of all primary energy consumption in the United States. That's why, if we really want to address climate change, we have to improve the energy efficiency of existing buildings, particularly older ones that tend to be the least efficient," said Anne Finucane, the bank's Global Strategy and Marketing officer.

More information is available in this press release. And here is a list of certified Community Development Financial Institutions by state.

How much of that $55 million winds up in the San Joaquin Valley remains to be seen, but we are happy that BofA is targeting energy conservation. The SJVCEO is heavily involved in efficiency, and is helping budget-strapped and staff-decimated cities in the Valley with energy and cost-saving retrofits.

Changing lights, replacing air conditioners and installing new motors are less glamorous than solar farms, wind turbines and the renewables part of the clean-energy movement, but is the most cost effective and easiest to accomplish. In fact, Federal Department of Energy head Steven Chu called it "low-hanging fruit" until deciding even that wasn't an accurate characterization. He now says energy efficiency is "fruit on the ground" and ripe for picking.

As this blog states, minimal investment in energy efficiency can reap maximum benefits. Studies show that commercial retrofits can cut power bills in the United States by billions of dollars. That is money that can be reinvested or stimulate the economy.

How to reduce your office’s carbon footprint

By Kieron Casey

For many a green minded individual the time they spend at work and the time they spend at home could not be more different.

Whilst this can, of course, refer to the level of relaxation and comfort available it can also refer to their implementation of green practices and policies. At home many an eco-conscious individual will spend a far amount of time making sure all their waste is recycled in the proper fashion and that all unneeded electrical equipment is redeployed or given to a new home.

At work, however, many individuals find themselves in an environment where green measures take low priority. Recycling and sustainability are not often seen by business decision makers as high priority or a general mood of ambivalence surrounds this issue at the workplace. However, it is possible, with just a few small actions, to implement widespread changes.

Like most strategies the best area to begin trying to implement change is right at the top of this business in the hope good practices will become standards throughout the company and will trickle down.

Although management at companies are often busy and green issues may not be the number one item on their agenda it is certainly worth highlighting this area to them particularly if you can highlight ways in which green policy can save a company’s money.

A prime example is via the use of printers; many older printers take longer and use up more energy than their newer counterparts – replacing them with streamlined models can see an increase in productivity, better time management and a lower carbon emission.

Something as simple as switching all printers to utilizing both sides of paper as a default setting will similarly half waste paper which of course is as great for a person in a finance department to hear as it is for a green minded individual.

Another way in which printers can be made more environmentally suitable would be to check their cartridges; whilst some can be recycled others can not. Also it is worth noting that it takes the same raw materials to create a larger cartridge as it does a small one.

If it is possible to convince management of these measures perhaps try and suggest co-ordinating meetings to discuss environmental measures with other members of staff. Small suggestions such as a car pool scheme or cutting down on use of paper cups in favour of bringing water bottles to work can go a long way in cutting a carbon footprint substantially.

Also one of the many reasons a company may not be aware of the many ways it impacts upon the environment is due to an uncertainty; many businesses are not aware of how much they waste let alone how to improve their records.

One of the best ways to combat this is to put into practise a chart, similar to a financial one tracking a company’s fiscal losses and growths, which measures the companies green performances and their recycling strengths and weaknesses.

Once green practices are observed in such a fashion it is possible then for a company to see where they are going wrong, what areas need change and how plans can be set up to implement these.

Once a company has monitored what can and cannot be recycled, what constitutes waste that should be disposed of in the usual fashion and what should not, it can go about looking at ways to actually getting on with putting a proper recycling plan into action.

Based on a town’s local recycling habits and pick up times it is possible for a business to make plans around these. Yet, perhaps, the most important action a business can take is to ensure that appropriate waste bins are put in place; there should be appropriate and separate disposal units set up for plastic, glass, paper and other materials, which accumulate on a work premises. The bins should be clearly labelled and the staff should be made aware of which materials should be placed into which container.

Author Bio
Guest blogger Kieron Casey is a green minded, vegetarian, BA (Hons) Journalism graduate who lives in Bradford, United Kingdom and blogs regularly on subjects including IT equipment, the environment and green living. He is writing on behalf of Equanet.

Google Edges Closer To California's Clean Energy Heartland

Most people know Google as the leading Internet search engine, but the high-tech company is investing heavily in renewable energy in California and other places. Just weeks after announcing a big investment in a Mojave Desert solar farm, Google now has placed a $55 million bet on a wind farm in Tehachapi - just off our southern tip.

The company is teaming up with Citibank to buy a part of the Alta Wind Energy Center, one of the largest wind installations in the world, according to the Los Angeles Times. In a press release, Google says its latest outlay - which ups its total investment in renewable energy to $400 million - could help usher in a new energy future.

Google says its experience with solar energy shows that renewable power makes good business sense. Read more about that here.

Google consumes a ton of power through data centers, and says it wants to develop energy from renewable sources that is cheaper than electricity produced from coal. The Tehachapi project had other attributes as well.

"As part of the new 4,500 MW Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project, AWEC uses some of the first transmission lines developed specifically to transport renewable energy from remote, resource-rich areas (like the Mojave) to major population centers."

Google also was drawn to the innovative leverage lease financing structure. "...Google and Citi are purchasing the Alta IV project and will lease it back to Terra-Gen, who will manage and operate the wind projects under long-term agreements. We hope this structure encourages more investment by enabling other types of investors who might not typically consider wind projects."

Here is a breakdown of Google's other green investments (minus the Tehachapi project).

The Tehachapi deal brings Google tantalizingly close to the resource-rich and geographically-blessed San Joaquin Valley, which we believe could be a center of renewable energy.

We have the sun (which we'll probably start to notice in earnest in a few weeks), thousands of acres of flat land reasonably free of environmental issues, access to the transmission grid, and a rich agricultural heritage that lays the foundation for the possible development of biofuels.

The Valley's farmers already are leaders in renewable energy - check out this story of a Hanford dairy that is using solar to cut its power use 75% - and will likely boost those efforts as the sustainability movement grabs hold.

Is it unrealistic to think that Google could someday invest in the Valley - and provide an economic spark to a region that is primed for better days?

Image of Alta Wind Energy Center by gazettenet.com

19 tips to save energy and keep cool this summer

Summer's here in the San Joaquin Valley that means one thing.

It's hot. And it definitely means people will be looking to cool off by turning up their air conditioning systems. That costs money. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offers this little fact: The average home spends almost 20 percent of its utility bill on cooling.

We've collected some tips on how to keep cool without paying a fortune in increased energy bills.

Here is the EPA's annual list of ideas to cut energy and cooling costs:

1) Change out incandescent light bulbs. Energy Star lighting uses less energy and produces about 75 percent less heat than incandescent, reducing cooling bills, too.

2) Install a programmable thermostat and set it to work around your family’s summer schedule -- a few degrees higher, say 78 or 80 degrees, when no one is home, so your cooling system isn’t cooling an empty house.

3) Run your ceiling fan to create a cool breeze. If you raise your thermostat by only two degrees and use your ceiling fan, you can lower cooling costs by up to 14 percent. But don't run them if you're not in the room.

4) Pull the curtains and shades closed or move container trees and plants in front of sun-exposed windows to serve as shade.

5) Use a microwave instead of an oven to cook. Ovens take longer to cook food and can make your house warmer, requiring your AC system to work harder.

6) Check your cooling system’s air filter every month.

7) Get duct work fixed so it doesn't leak. For more information, go to http://www.energystar.gov/cooltips.

Here are some additional tips from the California Energy Commission:

1) Turn your thermostat to 78 degrees when at home and 85 degrees when away.

2) Cut your cooling costs by opening windows when it's cooler outside than inside. In the morning, close up the house to trap the coolness inside.

3) Eliminate wasted energy. Turn off lights in unoccupied rooms and unplug or recycle that spare refrigerator in the garage if you don't truly need it.

4) Use appliances efficiently. Do only full loads when using your dishwasher and clothes washer. Run your appliances during off peak hours or after the sun goes down. When replacing these appliances, buy Energy Star products. They save up to 30 percent over standard models.

5) Stop vampire power. Many new TVs, DVD players, chargers, computer peripherals and other electronics use electricity even when they are switched off. They add up to over 50 watts in a typical home that are consumed all the time. Unplug or install switchable eco-strips.

6) Operate pool filters and cleaning sweeps efficiently. Look at the operating hours for your swimming pool filter and automatic cleaning sweep if your pool has one. Shorten the operating time if possible and switch pool filter and sweeper operations to off-peak hours.

7) Keep air conditioner outside unit clear so air can circulate freely. And tune it up regularly.

8) Install low flow shower heads to cut hot water costs.

9) Install a whole house fan. These are used after sundown when the outside temperature drops below 80 degrees and in the early morning.

10) Increase ceiling insulation. Consider increasing insulation to up to R-38 to reduce heating costs by 5 percent to 25 percent.

11) Consider replacing your old air conditioner with an more efficient unit, SEER 13 or greater. New units can save up to 40 percent compared with older models.

12) Add high efficiency windows to reduce cooling costs by up to 15 percent.

US consumers still skeptical of green cars

Consumers in the United Kingdom like cars that get great mileage.

In fact, according to a recent study by Motoring.co.uk, Toyota Prius sales in Great Britain are up 51.5 percent in the first quarter of 2011 and Nissan's Leaf looks like another big hit.

Meanwhile, across the pond, U.S. consumers are less excited by green automobiles, a category that includes hybrids and electric. Sure, small car sales are up and Chevy's done great business with its revamped automotive lineup that includes the electric/gas Volt.

But automotive consultant JD Power and Associates in its inaugural 2011 U.S. Green Automotive Study says, "Automakers will be fighting over the relatively few consumers who are willing to drive green."

It could be the price of fuel. Petroprices.com reported an average UK cost to the equivalent of about $8.33 per gallon. That compares with a California average of about $4.12 as of May 23, according to AAA.

Big motivator. Americans are used to towing, hauling and packing in the number of passengers we want. Need help with that horse trailer? How about grabbing a tow bar and dragging that piece of junk Oldsmobile to the nonprofit junk car fundraiser?

Sure, we say. No problem. That's what that 460-cubic-inch monster in the pickup out back is for. Step on the gas pedal and watch the little red needle on the fuel gauge drop. It's a matter of pride with a lot of us.

Westlake Village, Calif.-based JD Power says that cultural phenomenon may stick with us awhile. I certainly haven't seen a decrease in the number of massive SUVs on the road. I find it reassuring to be sandwiched between a couple of them in a parking lot. Backing-out roulette is always an invigorating experience.

The study says consumers cite purchase price as a stumbling block to get into the new line of green cars. Remember, this is for electric and hybrid automobiles.

Other problems mentioned by consumers were driving range, or lack of it (a Leaf, according to a source, gets about 84 miles to a charge), increased maintenance costs and performance. The study says consumers are more likely to "switch into a more fuel-efficient vehicle powered by a traditional internal combustion engine than an alternative powertrain vehicle."

Yet, I've written about how Honda has positioned its hybrid Insight base price very close to that of the Civic. The statistics for performance aren't much different, although, and I've mentioned this before, my wife said there was no way anybody would catch her behind the wheel of "that thing," as she referred to the Insight. She purchased a Civic.

Peggy's issue was more cosmetic. She didn't care for the design, but like other consumers in the JD Power study she also worried about battery replacement costs.

My family tends to keep our cars and drive them a lot. Our daughter sold the 1986 Accord LX at 360,000 miles and it was still going somewhat strong. My 1981 Toyota pickup was cut up for scrap at about 260,000 miles but by that time was so tired and rotted out rust-wise that it had few usable parts.

And I'm still bound and determined to keep my 1974 Super Beetle functioning.

Drivers in the UK are a bit more adventurous, and perhaps a bit more insightful. Chris Green, co-founder and sales director of Motoring.co.uk, said increased demand can be traced to increased reliability and performance.

"In the future, we will see more and more people opting for cars that are cheap to maintain rather than splashing out on models to impress the neighbours," Green said in a statement. He estimated demand will increase in the island nation dramatically over the next 18 months.

And in this country, expectations are that consumers will buy into the alternative concept. Nissan has said it will install 30 solar-assisted charging stations at its Smyrna Vehicle Assembly Plant in Franklin, Tenn.

And they will have a lot to choose from. JD Power says that by the end of 2016, it expects manufacturers to offer 159 hybrid and electric vehicle models in the U.S. market. In 2009, there were 31.

Photo: Along the Oodnadatta Track, Australia, by mancity.

Clean energy may provide college graduates with jobs in 4 years

Watching my oldest son and his classmates get ready to head off to college has given me some insight into the next generation's dreams and desires.

Their views of the future haven't yet been clouded with the jaded, cynical perspectives of their parents.

Of course there was the exception of my son Calvin. When his goals were read during a presentation honoring the top graduates of his high school, he said he hopes machines don't take over the world.

Most of his classmates in the top tier scholastically and athletically painted a more idealistic and optimistic view of their futures. They wanted to be doctors, lawyers, CIA agents. And they wanted to change the world.

But what exactly will they face once they get out? The economic picture is not pretty, even for college graduates with top scores and vivid intentions of success.

Personally, I'd like to see the clean energy industry expand exponentially in the region and offer opportunity within its various sectors. That would jump start the rest of the economy.

It may happen. Clean energy costs will decline and jobs could break loose over the next couple of years, says the report "Putting America Back to Work with Clean Energy" by the progressive Washington, D.C.-based think tank Center for American Progress. The report says the "crossover point" at which development costs of fossil fuels and renewables meet "is coming quickly."

The current job situation is grim. The unemployment rate between April 2010 and March of this year for college graduates averaged 9.7 percent, according to a briefing paper, the Class of 2011, by the Economic Policy Institute.

The paper's authors, Heidi Sheirholz and Kathryn Anne Edwards, write that graduates face an "extremely difficult job market. In fact, it is likely that the class of 2011 will face the highest unemployment rate for young college graduates since the Great Recession began."

And Arianna Huffington points out in a recent column that college graduates also will be burdened by a debt load averaging $27,000. "Economically at least, this is an especially rough time to be graduating from college," she writes.

Maybe I'm drawing all the wrong conclusions. My son Calvin is heading to Seattle University to study film. He wants to be a director.

To me it means paying about $31,000 in board and tuition. I have about $45,000 saved. He's debt bound.

He interprets the concept differently, perhaps that college will be like a non-Kafkaesque metamorphosis. As a graduate of an elite Jesuit college, he'll possibly be able to navigate all the pitfalls of those who came before him and forge a successful, profitable career.

Maybe. But along the way, he'll learn how the economy can beat hopes into mush and how technological change can pummel entire professions. (At least that was my experience, and I let a little of the embittered ex-journalist diatribe through.)

Over the past couple of weeks, I've listened as Calvin and other seniors from Clovis High School received honors for their scholastic, athletic and community service enterprise. These are the school's best and brightest. How a son of mine got there I don't know.

School administrators read the students' pre-scripted dreams and goals as well as their accomplishments. Some of their plans amazed me. One is heading off to college in India. Another is going to Africa to help foment change one farm at a time. Other careers included CIA, equine vet, cop, anesthesiologist, attorney, bioengineer, NASA.

I guess all parents go through this. Wondering. Worrying.

For some reason, I didn't much worry about my daughter, who's now 26 with a couple of kids, a house and a husband who races to do her bidding. She was driven, an overachiever like her brother.

My directive to her was less existential. I said, "Just finish college." She did, graduating with a degree in sociology/criminology from Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash.

She gave up a promising job in the Washington state juvenile justice division and is now working as a paralegal and loving it.

Jennifer didn't head into the CSI-influenced career she thought she would love. Life has a way of doing that.

Perhaps some of these Clovis High grads will find themselves drawn to clean energy if the industry in the San Joaquin Valley does indeed develop like I think it should. Should that happen, these college graduates may need to beef up their training.

And I know exactly where they can do it. Right here in the Valley. The infrastructure is already in place.

Photo: Seniors Calvin Nemeth and Georgia Petersen before prom.