The number of companies who are going above and beyond the minimum environmental regulations is growing, and consumers should support their efforts. The companies are benefiting financially from their conservation, with the cost of implementation frequently being offset within three years.

The EPA is tracking these companies on the National Environmental Performance Track website. The EPA recognizes facilities that "set three-year goals for continuous improvements in environmental performance beyond regulatory compliance."

The program's 400+ members have collectively reduced their water use by 1.9 billion gallons, conserved nearly 9,000 acres of land and increased their use of recycled materials by nearly 120,000 tons."

For Example, Epson of Portland has reduced its waste by recycling ink, shut off its sprinkler system early to conserve water (yes, we here in Oregon have very dry summers), and eliminated the use of hazardous materials in its production process.

We should support companies like this if they offer comparable products. We call them "Companies that Matter," and you'll be hearing a lot more on that front soon.

Once again this week, headlines lament energy prices as they reach unprecedented heights. Right in lockstep with them, of course, consumer prices continue their march ever upwards. All together now: Let’s sigh and wring our hands and look forward to the day when prices fall back to “reasonable” levels and we can gas up our inefficient cars without cringing while the price of everything from lettuce to leather jackets returns to normal.

Or … maybe not.

What if, as even some in the current administration are starting to figure out, fuel prices might remain high for the foreseeable future? Or forever? What then?

If we’re smart -- both as a society and individuals -- we turn this from short-term pain into long-term gain. High energy prices, some say, may be exactly the foul-tasting medicine we need to change our behavior for the better. Those who understand this as a huge shift in reality will reap both financial and far deeper rewards. Those who cling to the old ways of looking at the world might not see the light until it’s dropping away from them over the horizon.

When the cost of carbon emitted into the atmosphere is included in the prices of energy and other products, the equations change. Biofuels like E85, which are carbon neutral (meaning the bio material grown for their production consumes as much carbon as the fuel ultimately emits when burned) begin to make more and more sense. And when you factor in the additional benefits of generating our own energy rather than investing the dollars and lives necessary to defend our interests in foreign oil and the opportunity to support our nation’s agricultural industry, biofuels look even better.

But in the short term, the bottom line is still the bottom line. Until this recent spike in gas prices, E85, while less expensive to our environment, national security, etc, was still more expensive at the pump.

Changing the way we value fuel to include these additional factors will take time and effort. But, thanks to the current high prices, we no longer have to wait before switching to alternative fuels makes sense: In the Midwest, E85 is readily available, often for less than the current price of an equivalent amount of gasoline.

In California, Pacific Ethanol is working with the state government to bring alternative energy into the mainstream. As automakers -- most notably GM/Chevrolet – continue to introduce more Flex Fuel vehicles capable of running on E85, the picture begins to get brighter.

All thanks to the ever-increasing prices at the pump.

New York Governor George Pataki is forcing open competition at the pump. In his state (as well as others), a fuel company has been able to require that gas stations (soon to be an outdated term) buy product only from it.

Pataki signed a law making such exclusivity contracts illegal, which is necessary since few petroleum companies also sell ethanol or biodiesel. It will take years for the infrastructure for distributing alternative fuels at retail to be in place, but Pataki's move provides competition that will get petroleum companies into the game sooner.

Pataki also required his state government to buy only alternative fuel vehicles, and offers incentives to open alternative fuel pumps.

While some might argue that alternative fuels don't deserve any federal assistance, we have to remember that the petroleum industry receives millions in incentives, so in some ways Pataki is leveling the playing field. For the small business owner looking to participate in alternative fuels, Pataki is a hero.