by Don Haslett

Created on: February 23, 2009

I drove over to the filling station just the other day and there I saw a paper saying, "We're Closed Forever-Go Away. Find a bike or find some skates, or a real good pair of shoes, but there's nothing left to sell you here so best of luck to you. This station is for sale now, though only to a rube, and when I take your money, I'll know you for a fool. But I need some solar panels; I want some breezy land, so I can build a windmill to house my future clan."

The days of easy gas are gone, left to memories and to books. Our cars were fueled by dinosaurs, now that's what they've become. But we can't worry overmuch, let's try hard not to fret, our days may be more difficult but they aren't done just yet. We have a situation here that weve ignored too long, it's time to put our heads together to keep us warm and strong.

We traded with Arabia, all our money for their crude. They spent it fighting everyone and then they spent to buy us, too. Venezuela has some barrels that lend Chavez a name. But make his oil meaningless and he'll be nothing but a clown; one day we'll see his people rise and run him out of town. Palin has some in Alaska, but not enough to join the game. She took her shot at that brass ring but only grabbed McCain. Mr. Putin's pipelines carry natural gas across to France and Spain. He shut them down the other day; he shook his fist, he yelled and glared and then he blamed Ukraine. I want to see a world where the oil stays in the ground and the mountains of West Virginia haven't all been strip-mined down. Let OPEC wither in the wind, when we no longer care, they can keep their billion barrels there in piles in the sand.

We can wait till all the oil's gone then sit shivering in the dark, or we can put our heads together and knock a home run from this park. We can use the sun that warms our roofs and the wind stirring through our trees, so cool. We'll put some pipes under our yards and use geothermal, too. Our power plants may be nuclear, though that's another trap; I hope to God we find a way to take a better path.

I know we'll be much smarter and act responsibly, for what we have in our garage, our living rooms, and the size of our TVs. It will be so nice to have a house that stands all on its own; a hearth, a bed and a power plant that's all in one warm home. The summer sun will make the meter spin quickly in reverse; the winter winds will do the same when our rooftop turbines purr.

Our cars will run on batteries that re-charge in sunny docks. You'll love the smell of fresh air that hasn't cooled an engine block. We have a special place for mufflers and for exhaust pipes; it's a display in the same museum as the caveman's old stone knives.

I read a lot of stories that say all this is bull. They say that coal is plentiful and oil's a sweet, clean fuel. It makes me wonder who is right and who's a flat- earth man, but I can't help think of ostriches with heads stuck in the sand. Long ago we left our caves and we've climbed down from the trees, it's time to take some steps right now that are evolutionary.

The future will have stories that tell of the old days, when smoke and steam belched into skies that once were dark and gray. And they will speak of industry and how we got our start, and how we kept our heads and changed before it fell apart. And they'll revere us for our wisdom, and they'll drive in flying cars, and the money not spent on oil can be spent on water wars.

Learn more about this author, Don Haslett.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.