Inasmuch as we write about commodities that provide energy, I've been thinking we ought to expand our horizons a little about what constitutes energy. After all, federal, state and city governments, the media, private-equity firms and many industries are doing so already.

The traditional energy producers and automakers are coming to terms with a Democratic Congress, backed by a groundswell of public sentiment, which is bent on some kind of greenhouse gas legislation that will try to change their future. It's not unlike that sharp focus a patient gets when scheduled to be laid out on the operating table the next morning.

So in the future, when you eat some fried or kung pao chicken, thus driving up poultry demand, rest easy knowing you're helping the environment and expanding the diversity of U.S. energy supply at the same time.

How so? Because ConocoPhillips and Tyson Foods Inc. unveiled an alliance to produce and market the next generation of renewable diesel fuels-using by-product fat from processing chicken, beef and pork.

The deal sounds funny but it is actually quite smart: it combines Tyson's advanced knowledge in protein chemistry and production with ConocoPhillips' processing, distribution and marketing expertise.

Tyson plans to make capital improvements now to begin pre-processing animal fat from some of its North American rendering facilities later in the year. ConocoPhillips will begin necessary capital outlays to produce this fuel in several of its refineries. The finished product will meet all federal standards for ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel. Production is expected to ramp up over time to as much as 175 million gallons per year, the companies report.

This is one more example of how traditional energy companies are trying to reduce harmful emissions and diversify our sources of energy. Who knows where this will lead in 20 years?

But I think an essential question is missing. What energy source will be used to make the electricity needed to process the meat by-products in the first place? Clean coal? Natural gas recycled from wellhead to poultry farm to power plant?

Ah, but maybe corn will do it. Corn is a commodity we've begun elevating in importance. U.S. farmers will plant more acreage for it this year than at any time since 1944, boosted by corn prices riding high on the ethanol boom. Of course, high corn prices could drive up the price of poultry.

The first 2008 presidential caucus is in Iowa, where the corn stalks will be high this fall when the campaign kicks into even higher gear than it is in today. Every politician visiting the state talks about reducing our dependence on Middle Eastern oil by increasing our reliance on ethanol made from corn.

Why are they not talking about natural gas production being increased, or funding more deepwater exploration and production?

Those are the questions posed by Christine Hansen, executive director of the Interstate Oil & Gas Compact Commission. She spoke at a recent program in Tulsa honoring women in the Oklahoma oil patch, sponsored by The Energy Advocates.

"Today when you go back to the office," she said, "instead of drinking a cup of coffee on your break, go to the websites of the candidates and read what they are saying about energy. Then call or e-mail them on it. Ask them why oil and gas are not part of the conversation.

"When you go to a campaign coffee in someone's home, ask the candidate point blank: 'What about oil and gas?'"

During his keynote address in Midland recently at the 13th annual Executive Oil Conference, IPAA chairman Mike Linn said he found it ironic that other countries known to be particularly "green," such as France, Norway and New Zealand, allow drilling off their coasts, while the energy-hungry U.S. does not allow it on either coast.

I believe we will need to develop all the energy alternatives we can muster and we need to start yesterday, for it will take time to experiment, bring the price of production and distribution down, and change the technologies that intersect with energy-such as the automotive engine and the HVAC system in the nation's factories, malls and schools.

As much as we'd like to see corn used for ethanol to power our cars, power plants are where we need to focus.

"The 500 power plants in the U.S. produce more CO2 emissions (41% of the total) than do the 225 million cars we drive (30%)," Anthony Damiano, with research and consulting firm Wood Mackenzie, said at a media briefing last month in Houston.

The problem is much more complex than politicians talking in Iowa would allow. They say we should reduce CO2 emissions from the power sector to 1990 levels by 2020, but Damiano said this is so highly unfeasible, "it is a joke." Trying to do this by using combined-cycle gas plants alone would take another 32 billion cubic feet a day-or a staggering increase in U.S. gas demand of 115%.

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