Let's look at something more realistic. I put seeds of several types of greens in my garden. My cost was a couple bucks. Now all of my salad and plenty of greens for stirfry are right outside the kitchen door, are as fresh as they can be, tasty and at a fraction of the cost of buying these vegetables at the grocery store. I make a batch of waffles and for about $.60 replace a four dollar loaf of bread.

More to the point, the cost of everything imported from afar is rising precipitously and will continue to do so because of the cost of fuel. In time we will be unable to afford Chilean grapes, New Zealand lamb, bananas and mangoes, and possibly California lettuce.

Even though, obviously, I'm willing to spend some time in the kitchen and the garden, I'm a big fan of our local farmers market, and many Americans have access to wonderful sources of locally grown food. Additionally, some farmers and enterprising local entrepreneurs have put together subscription services whereby local residents can receive a weekly delivery of fresh organic produce. My point is there are plenty of opportunities to shift our consumption to more locally produced food, and this is a trend that is bound to continue because of rising fuel prices.

Taking this one step further, the same is true of locally produced energy. If our government focuses on relieving the need to build additional power plants rather than pandering to the companies that build them, we can make our major source of new energy privately owned solar panels rather than new coal-fired power plants. And we can make xeriscape gardens the new trend instead of lawns. What we need to do now is reverse consumerism and make living well with a smaller footprint our goal.