It’s not often that Kansas makes the national headlines. It is even more unusual when a Kansas political decision is praised by the major liberal media. And yet that’s exactly what happened last Thursday when the Kansas secretary of health and environment, Rod Bremby, denied the applications to construct two new coal-fired electric plants in western Kansas. While the decision was hardly a surprise to those who have followed the progress of the applications since they were filed in 2006, it was and remains highly controversial.

For western Kansans, the plants meant more jobs and economic development. To environmentalists, the plants represented one more instance of industry ignoring the global cost of putting increased carbon emissions into the atmosphere. On Thursday, the environmentalists won and the utility companies and those who hoped to benefit economically from the plants lost. But the war is far from over.

There can be very little doubt in anyone’s mind that the battle over these and other carbon-based fuels in Kansas and around the nation will continue in the courts and legislatures. But it is not enough for environmentalists to celebrate Thursday’s decision. The fact of the matter is that the United States is a glutton for energy. As a people we seem overwhelmingly unwilling to reduce our energy consumption. Simply look at the number of massive SUVs on the streets of Lawrence or at the average new house built today with its central air conditioning, multiple large rooms, and often poor insulation.

If we are to survive as a nation and as a culture we cannot simply focus our efforts on stopping carbon-based emissions. If we stop all the proposed coal-fired plants, then we’d better come up with some serious proposals for alternative energy sources and for reducing energy consumption. Otherwise, we’re going to be in very serious trouble.

I think that there are several things the governor and all those who oppose the construction of the new power plants in western Kansas are now morally obligated to do. First, we need, as a state, a serious strategic plan whereby we can meet the energy needs of Kansans over the next century. It is true that only 15 percent of the proposed plants’ energy output was intended for Kansas. But now, we must find a substitute for that energy. Second, we need a strategic plan that will permit Kansans to reduce their energy use without damaging the economy. Otherwise, our energy needs will grow even greater and the battles over how energy is produced will grow more severe.

As part of the process of developing these strategic plans, I believe that Kansans need to tone down the rhetoric, rid themselves of sectional jealousies and rivalry, and work together. I also think that any planning process for energy production and energy usage must look to our scientists and engineers for their expertise.

The universities in Kansas have exceptionally strong faculty in these areas. We need their advice on the practicality of solar, wind and nuclear (yes, nuclear) energy for our state. The governor needs to put these scientists to work on these problems and make their solution a major priority for the state.

Last Thursday was a victory for the environment, but now the really hard work to solve our energy problems must begin. It will take each and every one of us working together to reach that goal.