The topic of sacrifice has been discussed before, in relation to the "war on terror" - what about everyone cutting their gas consumption by 10 or 15 percent?

Saudi Arabia is never going to go broke. The U.S. gets about 16 percent of crude oil imports from Saudi Arabia, less than either Canada or Mexico. They have willing customers in China and elsewhere, as other nations become more developed and demand increases.

Cutting gasoline consumption by 15 percent, even assuming this had no negative economic impact in the U.S., is another feel-good idea that has little actual influence on total oil imports. Still, keeping prices up there is a good thing, as alternatives become more attractive, and consumption will tend to go down naturally.

We could also stop being idiots about nuclear power, or about drilling for oil in our own country. Alternative fuels, especially biofuels from waste, not corn, has a lot of potential, but not for a while.