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If Jerry Valadez gets his wish, Fresno kids will soon do their part to fight global warming by learning lessons from an unlikely source — China, widely regarded as one of the world’s biggest polluters.Valadez, science coordinator for the Fresno Unified School District, recently returned from a two-week trip to China where he conferred with researchers and scientists studying global warming.He had expected to learn more about the dire environmental consequences of China’s rapid economic growth. But he came back with a surprise — insights into how ordinary people can make a difference.During visits to rural villages, Valadez said he saw first-hand how peasants conserve water, recycle waste and save energy.”The Chinese take it much more seriously now than we do,” said Valadez, 57, whose job includes determining science curriculum for 73,760 students.This month, Valadez will draw on what he saw in China as he helps to develop the curriculum at Ahwahnee Middle School, which recently received a federal grant to start an environmental science magnet program next school year.One of the first projects he has in mind for Ahwahnee students will be to adopt a rural village called San Lian, where poor families live in small homes along dirt roads and rely on coal for heating and cooking.His idea is to hold fundraisers for the villagers so they can put a device in their homes that turns pig droppings into methane gas that can be used for heating and cooking.

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When Shane Stange was in middle school, he started watching a television cooking show, The Frugal Gourmet. A recipe that was being prepared sent him into the kitchen with an idea of his own to substitute one of the ingredients.  “I decided to use Mountain Dew,” he said. “I took two bites and threw it away.”  That didn’t deter him from continuing cooking and doing 99 percent of the cooking for his family. He still tries out different combinations for dishes he makes.  “I like the creativity,” Shane said.  A city of Shawano policeman since April 2007, Stange said he made sure when he and his family moved to Shawano that the kitchen met his approval.  “I wanted a nice big kitchen,” he said.  Good health is important to Stange, who works out in the gym.

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When Gloucester High School junior Kody Middleton entered the school’s culinary arts program last year, his repertoire started and ended with scrambled eggs.  Now, halfway though his second year in the program, he’s graduated to more sophisticated fare, like meatloaf and lasagna. Nowadays, he said, he’s just as likely to improvise as he is to stick to a recipe.  “It was kind of a joke at first. It was like, ‘He’s going to take a cooking class because he likes to eat,’” Middleton said. “But then I realized I really, really liked it and decided to make it a career.”