Politics and scorched earth aside,alternative energy is just good businessRock County has again drawn attention for its renewable energy efforts through wind turbines and ethanol production.Leaders from the Twin Cities metro area came to see how they might harness the wind for their energy needs.On the heels of that visit, world-famous Arctic explorer Will Steger came Monday to learn more about grass-roots efforts that make overall impacts on the environment.Locally, we tend to view the attention as a source of pride and feel as if the attention is good for our economy and the investors of these projects.But there are broader implications.Global warming is no longer a hypothesis of a few scientists, nor is it something that only liberal politicians care about. Scientists agree that the climate is changing because of poor environmental practices, and American people of all political spectrums are taking note of global warming.Unfortunately, some people who should care and do something about it, choose not to. We are behind most other industrialized countries in setting earth-friendly policies and funding effective changes.Global warming doesn’t necessarily mean that our temperatures will get hotter each year or that we’ll immediately notice short winters. It can mean that more hurricanes will hit our coasts because of slight increases in ocean temperatures. It can mean that dryer soils will be more prone to wildfires. And in Minnesota, the gaming industry has already been warned of upcoming drops in duck and coldwater trout populations. Steger has seen the changes for himself, which is as powerful a testimonial as images from NASA that show shrinking icecaps.Steger heads a group called the Minnesota Natural Legacy Campaign which will help spread the word about what we in Rock County already know: What’s good for our economy is also helping to maintain a healthy environment, which is better for the entire world.