My world is full of smoke. As I drive through the dark shroud over the section of Highway 299 west where forest fires refuse to die, I feel trapped in a bad “end of the world” science-fiction movie. You know the kind, where the last remnants of civilization struggle to breathe the toxic air of their doomed world.

But if this is not a bad movie, could it still be a harbinger of things to come?

In the Olympics of Beijing, I believe we can see our future. Our gracious Chinese hosts temporarily improved their air quality by shutting down factories and construction sites for a few weeks before the 2008 Games.

Unfortunately, these factories will soon re-open, and the Chinese will continue to just as graciously contribute to the destruction of the world’s air quality. Lest the world be too quick to condemn the Chinese, however, we should all first look to our own sins.

The French seem to be content to generate most of their power with nuclear energy, but they haven’t quite figured out where to safely store their nuclear waste. And let’s not forget that the United States, with roughly 4 percent of the world’s population, consumes one quarter of the global energy supply.

It seems that the extinction of mankind requires a lot of helpers.

Wouldn’t it be ironic then if after surviving so many attempts at destroying ourselves through war, etc., our final undoing could come from a basic unwillingness to turn off the lights?

I call it “Death by Energy Use” and it’s a very real possibility. In fact, I’m actually a little bit glad that gas prices are creeping up to $5 per gallon, because it’s at this point that I want to shout to the world, “WAKE UP, STUPID! IT’S TIME TO FIX THE PLANET!”

I say this because believe it or not, there’s still time for us. All it takes is for you to become a superhero. And in order to become the superhero who helps fix the planet, you first have to know the following two facts:

           •Buildings in the United States are responsible for almost half of all greenhouse gas emissions annually.

           •76 percent of all electricity generated by U.S. power plants goes to supply the building sector.

Next, you need to pay attention to what will happen in Redding at 5 p.m. today, Wed., Aug. 20.

With relatively little fanfare, a brief ceremony will take place across the street from the McConnell Foundation to mark the beginning of construction for a new building to house the Redding School of the Arts.“The new Redding School of the Arts is being designed in cooperation by the architecture firms TRILOGY and K2AE, together with Pace Civil, Sharrah Dunlap Sawyer, and M/E Systems Engineering.”

What makes this so special is that this building will attempt to become one of only a handful of schools in the United States to become certified as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum.

That means this school will be among the “greenest” of all the green buildings in our country.

So what does that have to do with you, and more importantly, how does it help you become a superhero?

It’s simple, actually. This building is intended to serve as a learning tool for the children who go there, their parents, the teachers, and the community.

It will be here for a long time, a virtual clearinghouse for ideas on how to save energy and preserve the environment. While a few of those features are pretty exotic, many are simply basic tools that can be used by pretty much anyone who lives in a house. After all, “green” design is just another word for good design. All the ideas — such as windows that open, north–facing glass, collecting and reusing rainwater and solar water heaters — will be on display for everyone to see. Small wind turbines, “healthy” carpet and paint, quiet walls, bio-swales to filter water from the parking lots, and even shade trees, are just a few of the items on our (Trilogy Architecture’s) eco–friendly design checklist.

This school will serve as a giant demonstration tool for our children to learn how buildings impact our world. And children will “get it” quickly, because their world is black and white. It will be a little tougher for adults, who live in shades of gray and the greater good, complete with disposable plastic water bottles tucked into the dashboards of hybrid cars.

But even hypocrites can fix the world if they want to badly enough. All it requires is a commitment to do the right thing now — not tomorrow or next week.

It needs to become your priority to take some of these ideas, whether high-efficiency light bulbs, light-colored roofs, tree-shaded walls or ultra-high efficient insulation, and figure out how to use them in your home or office.

And if enough of us do these things, then we already have as much power in this country as we will ever need; without new coal plants, nuclear plants or off-shore drilling.

Oh yes, the part about becoming a superhero. Don’t you think your children will see you as one if you manage to save the planet for them?

James Theimer is the principal architect and founder of the Redding-based firm, Trilogy Architecture.