Comrades;
   Having been in the know about oil and energy issues for sometime, I have made it a point of conserving these resources for a while now. About 4 years ago, I bought a ridiculously huge Dodge Ram 1500. It was a sweet ride; fully loaded with an average fuel economy of 15mpg. However, at the time I bought it I knew that someday in the next few years gas prices would go significantly higher, but at the time, I needed such a robust vehicle for business reasons (I was doing a lot of traveling cross country at the time, toting along all manner of possessions for extended stays in different parts of the country, due to the nature of my job).
   As I said, I knew that fuel prices would eventually make such a vehicle uneconomic (not to mention impractical, wasteful and damaging to the environment), but at the time, given the price of fuel and my own situation, it made sense to have it. However, I eventually stopped traveling and settled down in a place close enough that I can walk to work, making ownership of such a vehicle even more foolish. So, last year, I sold it to some unsuspecting good ol' boy and purchased my current ride, a BMW Dakar 650cc motorcycle. At 70/mpg (69.512/mpg, to be exact), as you can imagine my consumption of fossil fuels has dropped preciptously.
   Now, as to my own situation, I'm a single guy living in a rented apartment (sharing it with my terminally freaked out roomate), situated in a small college town in central Virginia. Tbough I am certain that many other folks would not be in a position to 'powerdown' as much as I have, nonetheless, the example that brother Bob from Phx above is something that many people could do to alleviate their own use of fossil fuels. Unfortunately, my experience with humanity, through both observation and direct interaction, leads me to believe that the vast majority of our fellow citizens will go to great lengths to maintain the status quo (big houses, Ditech loans, SUV's complete with "Support the Troops" stickers, consuming cheap plastic shit made in China and sold at Wal-mart, ect). To even suggest such a course of action (conservation, sustainability, environmental awareness, rejection of the consumer culture) would, in the minds of some of my more confused and angry fellow Americans would be akin to advocating the imposition of a Maoist cult.
  I would liken the current situation in our country thus;
  One day, the circus comes to town. There is the usual parade of jugglers, acrobats and clowns down main street, followed by the animals. All manner of wild and exotic beasts, such as elephants, horses, lions and others are herded down the main drag of town. At the very end, there is one guy pushing a wheelbarrow, full to the brim with animal excrement that he scrapes off the street with the aid of a large coal shovel and a big, stiff bristle broom. One of the bystanders, thoroughly repulsed by the site and smell of all that animal manure, yells out to the fellow with the wheelbarrow "Man, that's such an awful job! How can you stand to do it?" To which the faithful circus employee replies, in an astonished tone "What, and give up show business?"

   I'll let you draw your own conclusions regarding this parable.

  Friends, we can only do what we can only do. The collective knowledge and wisdom represented on this site notwithstanding, I fear that our country is in for some dark times ahead.

Subkommander Dred

I am considering getting a battery powered bicycle.  Does anyone recommend any models that they are pleased with?  I figure when gas shortages occur, I can still make trips to the grocery store, etc.  I also think they would be safer than the loud gas powered cyles.