Blackouts roll through California, gas prices hit two dollars a gallon, gridlock makes the phrase rush hour the epitome of oxymorons, and the population keeps rising. While these signs will not trigger the apocalypse, they do show that there is something seriously wrong with how we view energy in this country.

Like everyone else, I relish the comforts of heat in my home in the winter and cool air in the summer. I treasure my 1988 Ford Escort Hatchback as if it was a child. I cook meals in my gas stove or eat out in restaurants that do the same. I enjoy the pleasures of modern energy, but we need to change our attitude.

As Americans, we assume we have the right to do whatever we want. That's nothing new. The first Europeans settlers came to this huge plot of land because they wanted to worship how they wanted. We moved west taking land from Indians because we wanted the green grass on the other side. We valued the gold rocks in the ground, so we blew holes in the land in search for as much as possible. We established communities like San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York because we liked the views. We decided that a house with a white picket fence and kids running in the yard would be the standard ideal. All the time never thinking what would eventually happen.

Metropolises across the country are full, our energy resources are beginning to be tapped to capacity, and the president says we can not conserve our way to a solution to the problem. While this is true (more people mean more power stations), it really doesn't hurt to try and cut back.

Do we hear the government encouraging the American people to walk to work? Ride a bike to the summer blockbuster movies? Sweat out a little more barbecue before cranking up the air conditioning? Nope. We hear things like tapping the Alaskan wilderness for oil, rising gas prices due to clean burning fuel standards, and a hands off approach to California blacking out (they didn't vote for Bush, so who cares?). Basically, I don't think we can expect the government to solve this problem for us. We have to change our own ways.

While visiting towns along the Amazon River in Brazil, I noticed that most people didn't have cars. They walked, rode bicycles and cruised along on motorcycles. There is a certain pleasure in walking to a destination. It forces you to notice details that driving does not afford. Biking allows wider range of exploration than walking, and you can suddenly realize how maneuver through most of the side streets in your neighborhood. Your world will shrink in distance but grow in impressiveness. Hey, has that cool tree always been there?

Not to mention the inevitable exercise that occurs from using two feet instead of four wheels. I distinctly remember the one fat man I saw in Brazil because he stood out of the crowd. In America, we have so many people that are unhealthy and out of shape that they are considered the norm. Just imagine what would happen if we all started walking to the Dairy Queen for ice cream on hot summer days instead of sitting in the drive thru for five minutes. We might even meet each other without the use of an Internet chat room .

The trick to energy conservation is to slow down your existence. Don't try to get all twelve things on the list done in three hours. Don't strap the cell phone to your brain, worried that you're going to miss the Big Outcome. Don't drive your kids to soccer practice, acting classes, church day camps and piano lessons every day. Force their A.D.D. minds to actually focus on something. Don't turn on that swamp cooler at the first sign of sweat. Experience the weather a bit. Life takes a long time, so don't be in such a hurry.

The government says it will take more to solve our energy issues, but I say it will take less. Less demand, less stress, less driving, less hurry. Some people might add less comfort, but I disagree. There are as many rewards as sacrifices in conservation. Last week, I walked a total of four miles to return a video. It took me an hour when it would have taken fifteen minutes in the car. But I did more in that hour than I would have done by saving forty-five minutes of time. I exercised, I noticed the flowers and bushes coming into bloom, I ran into a friend of mine, young girls noticed and whistled at me and I got home and took a nap. It was an experience instead of a chore on a list. No gas was used, no clogging up the streets with another car, no stress.

It is starting to dawn on me that the most untapped energy comes from inside the bodies of Americans. Let's start putting it to good use.

Chris Jungle is fuel for the fire.