One Way to Solve the Energy Crisis: Living Liberally

Bill Scher had a great post up yesterday at Blog for OurFuture about the latest offshore drilling/tire inflating madness.

On Thursday, conservative radio host Sean Hannity claimed Obama said, "All you need to do is inflate your tires. That's all you need to do. If every American would join in this effort, of inflating one's tires, then it's all going to be fine. And we can still import 70% of our oil from Saudi Arabia. Just keep those tires inflated."

Conservatives -- lovers of childish mockery over substantive ideas -- later today are apparently planning to distribute tire gauges at an Obama energy event.

However, as it turns out inflating your tires will actually save you more money in the next year than offshore drilling will save you in the next twenty. How much more? DOUBLE! Bill continues:

Where did he get that crazy idea? From George Bush's Energy Department and Environmental Protection Agency. (hat tip: Get Energy Smart! Now!)

Their joint site fueleconomy.gov is loaded with fuel-saving, money-saving tips. Keep your tires properly inflated, for example, can save you up to 12 cents a gallon.

Compare that immediate savings from that single tip, with what coastal and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge drilling combined would get you two decades from now: 6 cents a gallon.

And that's being generous, because Bush's Energy Department says we can't expect any impact on prices from coastal drilling until the year 2030.

So yes, McCain's energy plan is so ridiculously dumb that you'll save more money on gas by just inflating your tires, than you would from the core of his energy policy! And you won't even save any money more McCain's plan for another 20 years!

Ben Smith also notes that "As Republicans mock Obama for saying you can save gas by inflating your tires, the noted environmental activists at NASCAR back him up." These people know cars. They know how to make them run efficiently and they advocate the same solutions that Obama is proposing.

Add to that all of the other energy proposals Obama has put forward and you've got a pretty clear distinction on the energy issue.

But there is another aspect of this story that has largely been missed. And that is that by asking Americans to inflate their tires, Obama is giving more and more people responsibility for protecting and strengthening our Country and our planet and bringing more people into the political process.

He's asking them to take some personal responsibility, to make a small (but very important) change in their regular lives for the good of them and their fellow man.

It's amazing how big of an impact little actions like getting your car tuned up, your tires inflated or eating a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich for lunch, can have on the world. These are actions that all Americans, whether you're a millenial, a boomer or even a little kid, can do.

So kudos to Obama for offering a plan that empowers people to take action, and that will hopefully do some good for our economy, our environment, and our pockets. In short, Obama is asking America to live liberally and we like it.