Expensive lesson on conservation's virtues

Energy conservation isn't merely "a personal virtue," as Vice President Dick Cheney once famously described it. For millions of Americans in the last few months, it has become a long-term necessity.

With gas prices near or above a record-high $4 a gallon, more people are changing the way they get around. During the first quarter of the year, for example, ridership on the Hampton Roads Transit's express routes jumped 32 percent over the same period last year.

People who can afford to do so are also shifting to more fuel-efficient vehicles. The evidence can be found at used-car lots in the region, where large pickups and SUVs are in abundance.

Nationally, the sales of large SUVs are down 29 percent and large pickups are off 17 percent from a year ago, according to Autodata Corp. Sales of subcompacts, meanwhile, are up 33 percent, and gas-electric hybrids such as the Toyota Prius (a model posting 23 percent gains) are rolling off car lots.

The fallout continues to hit Detroit's Big Three automakers, whose leaders are finally reading the writing that's been on the wall since America's first major energy crisis more than 30 years ago. After investing heavily in low-efficiency vehicles for the past three decades, General Motors and others are shutting down pickup and SUV factories and, finally, focusing on models with higher fuel economy.

Since 2005, GM, Ford and Chrysler have closed 35 plants, including Ford's pickup plant in Norfolk. The latest closures by GM cost 8,350 people their jobs - a lamentable fact that might have been avoided if auto-makers had not ignored the inevitable.

It's clear consumers can no longer dodge the need to conserve. During previous surges in gas prices, people carpooled, combined errands, eased up on the gas pedal and took other steps to save gas and money. But the focus on conservation has often been short-lived. When pump prices dipped again, many Americans reverted to their old spendthrift habits.

This time around, the conservation philosophy may stick. Four dollars a gallon could be the magic number that persuades consumers to make permanent changes in how they use gas. A drop in prices may be some time off; on Friday, oil prices surged more than $10 a barrel to an all-time high of $138.54.

Regardless of when or if prices dip again, the reality is that conservation must become a mainstay in American life. Our relentless consumption of oil is a dead-end road. Even if we begin tapping domestic supplies, we're still relying on a finite energy source. And, at the moment, we're heavily dependent on unstable, even hostile countries for our supply.

The long-term solution to the nation's energy crisis lies in the aggressive pursuit of renewable energy sources, the development of even more fuel-efficient vehicles, the expansion of public transit options and - last but not least - a lasting commitment to conservation as a way of life.