by Dawn St John

     If you drive a car, you probably have noticed lately that gas prices are dropping. This is due to numerous factors, most of which are beyond our direct control. However, one factor we can control is usage. Because the prices had skyrocketed over the summer (and really, over the past several years - it doesn't seem that long ago that you could fill the tank of a small car for $10!), people were doing less driving and being more careful about their gas mileage.

     My fear is that this conservation will not last. Now that prices are falling again,

and we've gotten used to paying nearly $3/gallon every time we pull up to the pump, will we start being less careful with our spending and usage? In the long-term, we can't afford for that to happen. Sure, prices are dropping now, but there is still an oil shortage. We cannot sustain our current level of usage forever, or even beyond the next twenty-five years or so. Chances are, our children will not have the oil supplies upon which we currently rely so heavily.

     In the past, The Green Room has explored alternative energy sources, as well as ways to conserve gas and improve

one's mileage-per-gallon. It's just as important today to focus on these issues as it was a month or two ago. It will still be just as important in years to come, and until we have developed a truly sustainable form of fuel.

     We need to keep working towards that goal. In the meantime, we need to continue to conserve. Drive fuel-efficient cars, use public transit, walk when possible, and don't waste fuel. We haven't won the fuel crisis just yet, but the more careful we are in the meantime, the longer we have to fight.