As I sat in the stands with my 11 year old son on Sunday watching the big Nascar race in Loudon NH I briefly pondered the effect that oil and energy will have on our overall way of life. Sure the price is higher but what else will happen?

I am a believer that we must use less oil and energy yet I seem to keep making exceptions to accommodate my "way of life". A very rough calculation comes up with the figure of about 500,000 gallons of fuel consumed just by this race and the people who watched it. This is about 10,000 barrels of oil in one event. I sat in the stands and I loved every drop of it.

I'm sure that each of you have some reason not to conserve. Maybe you will burn a few gallons of gas to go to a hockey game that your son or daughter plays in. Perhaps you will go to a quilting show. Maybe it will just be to run the AC on a hot summer night. There are exceptions for each and every one of us not to conserve.

I like to think that we will be able to keep making these exceptions. What is life if you are unable to enjoy it? We must do what we can to save energy but we must still find the way to live a full life with our families and friends.

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