Byron Power Plant, originally uploaded by gman16000.

Good things are happening for conservatives on the global warming front. Al Gore’s testimony last week before committees in the House and Senate seems to have energized the base — particularly on the issue of Gore’s hypocrisy. One Senate aide told me he was thrilled with the media coverage generated by Sen. James Inhofe’s questioning of Gore about changing his way of life. (Gore’s not interested, by the way.)

Just a few hours ago, a group of conservative bloggers heard from some of the leading experts on the topic: Heritage’s Ben Lieberman, FreedomWorks’ Wayne Brough and CEI’s Iain Murray. While part of the discussion focused on building a coalition to counter the left’s infrastructure, we also discussed putting forward alternative ideas that would match what the left has proposed. (The New York Times recently offered a real-life story of Gore’s ideas put into practice.)

One such not-so-new idea that came up today was focusing increased attention on nuclear energy. Although some liberals have apparently become more open-minded to it, nuclear energy remains an issue that has its ups and down, particularly because of its high front-end costs.

UPDATE — April 1, 11:04 p.m.: Soren Dayton offers his take on this meeting with a focus on the Republican presidential candidates and the role of global warming in the 2008 campaign.