Green Energy is a term used to describe energy produced from renewable energy resources like wind, solar radiation, hydro-electric power, geo-thermal, and even methane that is captured from landfills. These sources of energy are considered "renewable" because the process of using them to create energy does not involve extracting something that is not readily available.

Landfill methane is a bit different than the other listed resources - landfills release methane gas as a natural byproduct of decomposition. This gas must be vented to keep it from building up in the landfill and potentially causing an explosion. Rather than just venting the methane into the atmosphere where it contribute to global warming, many communities capture the methane and use it to produce energy. Sure, the energy production releases "greenhouse" gases too, but at least we obtain energy in the process - the alternative is to just waste the potential energy in that methane and send it directly to the atmosphere.

Even burning wood or other plant products can be done in a renewable manner, provided that the resource is used in a sustainable way - namely, that you do not remove the plants at a rate greater than they can be replaced. Plants sequester (capture and hold) carbon that they pull from the atmosphere, so burning plant material at a sustainable rate does not cause a net increase in atmospheric carbon.

You can check to see if "green" energy is available in your community in the US. The information is found at the Department of Energy website.

There are not many options in Illinois: Naperville, JoDaviess area, some central Illinois communities and St. Charles.

Another resource found at the DOE site is information on "energy certificates." Quoting from the site: The Green Power Network (GPN) provides news and information on green power markets and related activities. The site is operated and maintained by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy. Frequently updated, the site contains information on and links to green power providers and their product offerings, utility green pricing programs, and other policies that affect green power markets. The GPN also includes a reference library of relevant papers, articles and reports.

TerraPass, the company I mentioned earlier is one of the companies on this list. Basically, you can buy a certificate from one of the companies on this list to invest in the creation of an equal amount of clean energy - but it will be created somewhere else. 

Another option would be to help advocate for clean energy development close to home. For folks in the Midwest, I came across the Environmental Law & Policy Center's website on Global Warming. They do a lot of advocacy work in the Midwest to help promote renewable energy development. As they say on their site:

The Midwest is the fulcrum for global warming solutions. The Midwest has the largest concentration of old, dirty coal plants that produce large amounts of CO2 which cause global warming, and the Midwest is the center of the United States' transportation industry. The Midwest is the most important region in the most important country in the world when it comes to solving our global warming problems.

So, since we cannot purchase "green" energy directly where we live, we'll have to help push for more consumer options!