You'll get no argument from me on this one. I'm not a treehugger but dang close. I do believe saving our resources is important. Not just oil but ALL of our natural resources.

I loathe palm trees because they'll dig their roots down as deep as necessary to draw the water they need -- a 10-foot palm can have roots as long as 100 feet. While Southern Californians don't want to admit it, their stupid palms have gotten deep enough to get into the aquifers and have helped with the water shortage plaguing California today. Mind you, "helped" -- palm trees aren't the only problem but at least they are one problem that could be resolved by getting rid of the dang things. If Florida ever gets into a serious, long-term drought, I'm sure the palms will do the same thing here.

We've finally gotten smart about replenishing our trees as we chop them down. Let's hope it is not too late.

We have cut down on pollution. Not enough but at least it's better. Bad air days used to be common in Northern California -- at least 30 out of the year in the Bay Area. Now, we're down to about 10-15. Hopefully, as time goes on it will get even better.

Oil consumption has to be cut down a lot more than it is. Alternative methods have to be found and used. The hybrid cars are, today, nice but not really practical -- it takes too many resources to make them thus defeating their basic purpose. Ethanol is not a viable option. Solar and wind energy can and do help but not enough.

This is a problem that should cross all party lines. Our "leaders" should put the environment and our dwindling natural resources above their and their friends' needs. Unfortunately, that's not happening. It didn't happen under Bush. It didn't happen under Clinton. It certainly didn't occur under Reagan. The silent majority chooses to be silent, although they do say it is an important issue. I honestly can't imagine the environment truly being an issue until the deep pockets of this country are affected or there are protests across the nation.