It’s probably too convenient to be a coincidence that the disclosure of Al Gore’s energy use followed immediately his Oscar win for “An Inconvenient Truth,” a movie that showcased some facts and made some controversial observations about global climate change.

The incident reinforced the point of our Tuesday editorial, which is that some people (specifically, the Hollywood crowd at Sunday’s 79th annual Academy Awards) find it easier to preach environmental awareness than to practice it themselves.

In Gore’s case, the disclosure by the Tennessee Center for Policy Research that Gore’s 10,000 square foot family mansion uses a lot of electricity is hardly surprising, but it puts a larger Catch-22 in perspective: If an influential (successful) person advocates energy conservation, critics cry “hypocrite.” Yet if an environmental advocate practices what he or she preaches by moving into a smaller, energy-efficient house and being conscientiously thrifty with energy, water and other resources, that person risks being labeled an extremist.

Actor Ed Begley Jr. comes to mind. He braved his status-conscious wife’s ire by installing an ugly plastic rain barrel to conserve water, and he often is ridiculed for practicing what he preaches.

Fortunately we don’t have to look very far for reasonable and balanced approaches to responsible energy and resource use.

As we reported in the first issue of our new Mid-Valley In Business monthly publication, local businesses are finding that “green” practices are keeping their bottom line firmly in the black. It makes sense to save energy, cut down on waste, reuse resource and take other sensible steps. These are a few of the practices employed by thriving businesses, and they are paying off.

By contrast, the consequences of China’s decades-long reckless and wasteful environmental policies now are among the leading reasons threatening to send that nation’s economy into a depression.

People of good will can disagree on the means to take to environmental responsibility, but it’s a journey we need to take. Even if we decry the contradiction in the personal energy use habits of one environmental spokesman, that doesn’t mean we can call the issue settled.

We applaud those who are pursuing solutions that successfully blending sound economics and environmental protection. If you want to read how they are doing this, see www.democratherald.com/inbusiness. (After Friday, the permanent online address for our new business publication will be mvinbusiness.com). You also can call

541-758-9596 for a copy.