Cognitive dissonance is defined as having two contradictory ideas, the resultant discomfort, and how we attempt to resolve the problem.

Take the following example: I was walking in Lakeport and I passed two houses. In front of the two houses were four SUVs. Later, on that same walk, as I approached home, I could hear the sounds of auto racing from the speedway.

And the next day, as I was riding my bicycle, I saw scores of motorcycles on club rides. I saw a lone woman in a huge diesel pickup truck that was shined and polished and was obviously a showpiece (the truck, not the woman) rather than a work horse.  

And then I heard on the news that the United States had increased its C02 output by 4 percent last year. We know that we love motors and machines.

But, we also know that we will run out of oil. As the supply has shrunk, we have had to kill for oil on many occasions, as we are doing now in Iraq. It is not an accident that we have had more suicides in the armed forces this year than have been killed by enemy combatants. Our soldiers experience the inanity and immorality of these wars first hand.

We know that that we love our families, and that global warming is real, and that it has accelerated because of human activity. And yet, at the same time we sincerely profess our love for our families we are acting as if we want to insure their doom. It is a form of insanity to hug your kid and then drive to work in a gas guzzler.  

But, as philosopher Slavoj Zizek has pointed out, we look in the sky and we cannot see the hole in the ozone layer. We look again and still don’t see it, and we can believe that everything is okay. And yet, we know that it is not okay. The consequences of accepting reality will mean change, and when we begin change, we never know how things will end up. But, if we don’t change, we know things will end badly.

It seems we can’t resolve this problem without the help and planning of government. And, the Obama Administration has announced that there will be dramatic increases in mileage requirements. However, this is exactly what Carter recommended in the late 70s.

The president following Carter, Ronald Reagan, decided government was not the solution, but rather the problem. Reagan exempted light pickup trucks and SUVs from CAFÉ standards, and generally halted increased mileage requirements.

The point is that we can’t rely on government to save us (although its help would be appreciated). Government is under tremendous pressure from lobbyists yielding vast sums of money. Men in positions of power, as a rule, spend their energy perpetuating their power rather than securing a habitable world.

So, don’t buy cars that get less than 40 miles per gallon. You don’t buy them, they won’t make them. Plan to phase out cars completely. Use bicycles for outings instead of motorcycles. Go on the lake with kayaks instead of motor boats. Support sustainable energy and wean yourself away from fossil fuel.  Plant a victory garden. Without a planet, no other issue is relevant.

Nelson Strasser lives in Lakeport, Calif.