The Mental Energy Crisis

Instead of Drill Baby Drill, how about Think Baby Think? The oil spill is teaching us a lesson at this very moment and it is giving us a D minus in prudent energy use. OK, it is not going to be possible to slip the surly bonds of gas-powered transportation, but perhaps we can liberate our state of mind and come up with a more thoughtful plan to serve our own needs. Can't we go back to driving more slowly? Can't we bundle our errands so we make one or two trips instead of five or six? And please, no valet parking; you can walk a few feet. Of course it seems impossible to liberate ourselves from the psychology of the SUV and the burly truck. When I worked in the GM building in Detroit I drove a used VW bug since it worked better in snow and ice. Our little group was very cynical about the GM cars in the main floor showroom. "No car can take you where you want to go", was one of our mottos. There was also the medically important question, "Like to enlarge your penis non-surgically? Buy a Corvette!" I saw a Ford commercial last night that wants it both ways. It opens by thumbing its nose at the gas station owner. It then says that their F150 truck will give you great mileage (but doesn't specify what) and then closes in front of a bank of wind energy towers. I also saw another commercial for dear old, sane , Swedish Saab, the brand that America turned its back on. The copy line was: "Move your mind". If only we could.