From this point forth you may no longer consider our environment of any concern to you if you do not critically address our world's depleting supply of oil. I assure you upon correlating the contents of this article, you will come to find that rapid oil consumption is certainly the most important and pressingly urgent issue surrounding the Earth's environment today.

And if it does not concern you more than other environmental issues, then you would be wrong in thinking that you are concerned about the environment at all.

What I want to focus on here is a subject many of you may not be aware of. It's a subject not only important in and of itself, but also a subject important on a multitude of different levels. It's a subject important to gasoline consumers. It's a subject important to those who fought in the Persian Gulf War, because it goes a long way to explain our soldiers' presence there. It's also a subject important to the upcoming presidential election.

But above all, if you harbor an overflow of optimism toward the human race in general, what follows is hopefully a subject that will cause you to critically reconsider your unfounded enthusiasm.

Within the last two or three years you may have asked yourself the question, "Why do gasoline prices keep rising so drastically?" Well, many would have you believe any number of different reasons why. The leading response being that it is out of our control.

Foreign oil bandits raise oil prices and there is nothing we can do about it, as we are deftly reliant on their services. And while this response is surely true, it is also a neatly designed and covertly evasive maneuver. Is imported oil part of the problem? Yes. Is it the entire problem? No.

So, why do gasoline prices keep rising so drastically? Ladies and gentleman of the planet Earth, the answer you seek is so clear-cut and straightforward that you simply might not want to hear it. Plainly speaking, gasoline prices are on the rise because this little blue planet we call home is running out of oil.

If you take Earth 002 (Gaia-Earth System) here at Penn State with Professor Kasting, you do a lot of work on the effects of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. In the book The Earth System, which Kasting co-wrote, there is a section which involves predicting global temperature change. In this section, we learn that in 1999 about 2.5 giga-tons of carbon was released into the environment due to the consumption of oil products.

Kasting also points out that there are approximately 500 giga-tons of carbon in the form of obtainable oil left in the Earth.

What these facts boil down to is this: At our current rate of oil consumption (which increases every year) we will have expended all known sources of oil in about 200 years. 200 years, people! Think about it, there is a very good possibility that our great-grandchildren might live to see a world devoid of oil. If you've never seen the Mad Max movies I suggest you go rent them tonight in order that you might better understand the legacy we are providing for our descendants.

But I am sure some of you are saying, "We'll definitely come up with some way to solve this problem before it spells our doom, right?" Yes. In fact, we already have. The answer to this problem is the use of electric automobiles and other widespread forms of electricity generated by a renewable source of energy -- namely, solar power.

The total implementation of this new source of energy, however, is going to take a very long time, even if we began radically changing things today.

And in order to avoid any problems that might arise due to oil shortages, we would have to be taking advantage of solar power . . . oh, about 10 to 20 years ago!

So why aren't we using solar power based electricity at all right now, right this minute? Politics, baby, politics. Oil companies are bigger than big business. And if there's one we thing to know about big business, it's that they've got a lot of stroke. Some disgustingly rich folks stand to lose stadiums full of money if we begin using renewable energy sources.

And trust me, these people have a plethora of ways to impede this necessary progress.

But if you consider our environment to be of any concern to you, then foremost you must consider the world's oil supply in relation to our current rate of oil consumption — its biggest problem. And that being so, you must always conduct yourself in an adherent manner.

For example, if you plan to vote in the upcoming presidential election you must vote for either Gore or Nader, as Bush's answer to this problem is to simply look for more sources of oil. And that is clearly no answer at all. For if you were hungry, you could go looking for more food. But if you were aware that eventually your food source would run out, then perhaps you should consider the renewable ways of farming.

Also, I think it might help if more people followed the example of the Penn State student that was cited for disorderly conduct a few weeks ago. His crime? He was wearing a T-shirts that read "Fuck Petrol."

Hmm . . . is the State College police force on Exxon's payroll? Shell's payroll? Maybe George W. Bush's? Or maybe they're just stupid.

Whatever the case, go get 'em, boys in blue. Clean up these filthy streets and make them safer for those oil tycoons.

Oh, and while you're at it, go f--- some petrol.