When it comes to energy, everyone knows the U.S. is in hot water. Now the federal government intends to do something about it.

Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne yesterday announced a plan to make more than 190 million acres of federal land in 12 western states available for development of geothermal energy resources, an initiative that “could increase electric generation capacity from geothermal resources ten times over.”

The plan could produce 5,540 megawatts of new electric generation capacity from geothermal resources by 2015 — enough to power 5.5 million homes. The plan, known as the Final Geothermal Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS), also estimates an additional 6,600 megawatts by 2025 for a total of 12,100 megawatts – enough to power more than 12 million homes.

“Geothermal energy will play a key role in powering America’s energy future,” Kempthorne said in a statement, “and 90 percent of our nation’s geothermal resources are found on federal lands. Facilitating their leasing and development under environmentally sound regulations is crucial to supplying the secure, clean energy American homes and businesses need.”

The plan identifies about 118 million acres of Bureau of Land Management-managed public lands and 79 million acres of National Forest System lands for future geothermal leasing. It would provide a list of appropriate stipulations to be applied to leases and amend 122 Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land use plans to allow for geothermal development.

The United States is the world leader in generating electricity using geothermal energy, with about 16,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity generated in 2005. Almost half of this production and 90 percent of U.S. geothermal resources occur on federal lands.

Replenished by heat sources deep in the earth, geothermal energy is a renewable resource that generates electricity with minimal carbon emissions. Direct use of geothermal energy supplies heat for buildings, greenhouses, aquaculture, and other activities. It offers additional possibilities for reducing the need for conventional energy sources. As many as 270 western communities could benefit from such direct uses, according to the Interior Department.

Growing interest in developing these resources is seen in the results of recent Bureau of Land Management geothermal lease sales in areas already allocated for such use. An August 2007 sale drew the highest-ever per-acre bid for a lease in California’s famed Geysers field. And a sale of leases in Nevada brought a record-breaking $28.2 million in August 2008.

The climate change bill may be stuck in Congress but green initiatives march on. From the coasts to the heartland, states are taking matters into their own hands with many governors leading the way.

Among the most prominent “Green Govs” today are Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and Democrat Deval Patrick of Massachusetts. Due in part to their green inclinations, we will no doubt be seeing more of these men in years to come. Schwarzenegger indicated recently that he’d be happy to take on the role of energy and environment czar in an Obama Administration; and it’s widely assumed that Patrick, who early on endorsed his fellow Chicagoan and Harvard Law School grad Barack Obama, would have a position in a Democratic White House.

In 2006, Schwarzenegger signed the Global Warming Solutions Act into law. It contains one of the most ambitious rollbacks of emissions levels, requiring that California reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. Included in the law is the Climate Change Draft Scoping Plan which Mary Nichols, Chairman of the California’s Air Resources Board, describes as a “roadmap to move us quickly to a cleaner, more sustainable future, energy independence and a healthier environment.

This plan fulfills the Governor’s determination to act now, and it is based on the conviction that Californians will rise to the challenge and develop creative solutions to improve our environment and grow our economy.”

“The Governor is sincere in his green efforts,” says Leo Kay, director of communications for the Air Resources Board. “He puts his money where his mouth is. He’s been very supportive of diesel pollution regulation and even replaced the chair of the board last summer with the very respected Mary Nichols. He has regularly opposed offshore drilling and is much more interested in the possibilities of renewable energy.”

Last year, California made it mandatory for 2009 model cars to be labeled with global warming scores. The higher the score, the cleaner the car.

Schwarzenegger says that after his time as governor, he plans on promoting clean energy around the world. In a July 13 interview on ABC’s This Week, the California governor was critical of the Bush administration’s stance on global warming. The chief of the Environmental Protection Agency, Stephen Johnson, recently said the EPA would not take steps to regulate climate-warming emissions under the existing pollution laws even though the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the agency had the power to do so.

The governor told This Week’s George Stephanopoulos, that this decision “really means basically this administration did not believe in global warming, or they did not believe that they should do anything about it since China is not doing anything about it and since India is not willing to do the same thing, so why should we do the same thing?” Schwarzenegger added that the United States should lead the fight against global warming, as it did with the international race to the moon in the ‘60s.

Schwarzenegger also is known as a promoter of hydrogen cars and solar energy. His Million Solar Roofs plan, enacted in 2006, which offers homeowners financial incentives for installing solar roofs with the aim of having 1 million solar roofs operating in the state by 2018.