Or perhaps it was Hurricane Katrina's harsh demonstration of the wrath of severe weather.
Or maybe it was the report in February from 600 scientists hailing from 40 countries, saying global warming is unequivocal and most likely caused by human beings.
At some point, global warming moved from the left-wing to the mainstream. Across the country, governors, lawmakers and members of Congress are looking for ways to improve energy efficiency, increase the use of renewable energies and cut carbon emissions. They're framing it not just as an environmental concern, but a matter of energy independence, national security and economic survival.
For Ohio, the stakes could hardly be higher: 90 percent of the state's electricity comes from coal-fired power plants.
Nationwide, Ohio ranks fifth in overall energy consumption. The state's thirst for electricity means Ohioans use more than 57 million tons of coal a year.
And the state ranks fourth overall when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide and methane, that contribute to global warming.
The state has 21 coal-fired power plants belching out 126 million tons of emissions and 12.5 million registered vehicles traveling the roads sending 70 million tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere each year.
This puts Ohio in a tough spot — worse than most states, said Erin Bowser, state director of Environment Ohio.
"We are in a position to be very vulnerable if we don't diversify our electricity mix now and reduce the amount of carbon emissions that we put into the air and increase the use of renewable energy, such as wind," Bowser said.
Gov. Ted Strickland is pushing a plan to require that 25 percent of Ohio's power by 2025 come from advanced energy sources — half of that from renewable sources such as wind, water or solar. That translates into a 12-fold increase in Ohio's use of renewables in less than 20 years.
Diversifying the state's energy portfolio won't be easy, but Bowser says other industrial states have set higher targets for renewables than Ohio.
"Twelve-and-a-half percent in
20 years is actually pretty modest," she said. "We can do more."
