The 200- to 300-foot-long blades on industrial windmills look almost whimsical from afar. They appear to turn slowly. People sometimes stop to take pictures. "They look cool," said Eric Burch, director of policy and outreach for the Indiana Office of Energy Development. The tips of those giant blades, however, move at speeds approaching 160 mph, creating forces that send low-frequency vibrations through the ground. People three-quarters of a mile away sometimes say they can feel the vibrations in their chests.

Proponents of alternative energy stress the production of alternative sources, such as solar, wind, geothermal and biofuels. Others recognize the importance of coal to Indiana and prefer to explore development of clean coal technology. In any case, one trend is apparent: Despite widespread acknowledgment of a need to alter habits to protect the environment, many youths are apathetic about changing the status quo.

Gipe, who now lives in California, was in Fort Wayne last month to speak to two groups involved with the local stirrings of wind energy. And he knocked the wind out of the sails of those who think Hoosiers might be able to escape spiraling energy prices if homeowners would only plop a wind turbine on their roof or in their backyard. "It's just not economical for homeowners," he says of wind energy. But that isn't to say locally generated wind energy is out of the question, Gipe says. ...

Renewable energy equipment, such as windmills and solar panels, are cool to look at, but they're not an economically feasible investment for most typical homeowners -- yet. A few renewable energy sources, such as thermal solar systems, can pay for themselves in a few years. But experts say you often get better bang for your buck by lowering your consumption, for instance by insulating your walls better. A few renewable energy sources, such as thermal solar systems, can pay for themselves in a few years. But experts say you often get better bang for your buck by lowering your consumption, for instance by insulating your walls better.

In advance of the summit, we asked Purdue President Martin Jischke, Amy Myers Jaffe of Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy and Sue Cischke, vice president of environmental and safety engineering at Ford Motor Co., to explore issues surrounding the nation's energy needs.