Not all the green work in Alamance County is in construction. Elon University has a goal of reducing its energy use by 6 percent for 2007-08 compared to the previous year and becoming carbon-neutral in the next 30 years, which involves reducing and offsetting greenhouse gas emissions.

After motherhood and apple pie, energy independence probably qualifies as the most popular political slogan in the land. It is, as they say, a no-brainer. Robert Bryce agrees: You have to have no brain to think it is possible or even desirable.
In “Gusher of Lies,” Mr. Bryce, a freelance journalist specializing in energy issues, mounts a savage attack on the concept of energy independence and the most popular technologies currently being promoted to achieve it. Ethanol? A scam. Wind power? Sheer fantasy. Solar power? Think again. For the foreseeable future, …