I was on my way to work the other morning and noticed that my gas gauge was buried like it almost always is. Being one for procrastination, I always squeeze the last little bit out of my tank before filling up – whether that’s wise or not is another matter.

I pulled up to a pump, braced myself against the cold, and then set about filling my tank. The gas station’s speakers were blaring a good song, and I momentarily got lost in the music. I was so distracted, that the pump clicked off and I jumped. When I looked at the total, I thought I was going to cry. I had filled my 15 gallon tank for under $20.00. I thought, ‘there must be a mistake.” I checked the price per gallon – which was set at a very comforting $1.39. All the way to work, and for the rest of the morning, I was cheerful and peppy. It’s great to feel like you’re getting a break; like you’re not being ripped off!

That is, until I drove over to the restaurant for lunch. I don’t often leave the building, but occasionally, I’ll feel like a splurge. As I got out of the car, I realized that the diesel pickup truck in the spot next to me was running. I looked into the window, ready to wave a ‘Thanks for waiting, sorry for being in your way’ to the driver, but found that the cab was empty. I looked around the parking lot… Empty. As I walked into the restaurant, I expected to pass someone rushing back out again with a carry out order…. Nope. And as the hostess greeted us, there was no one else around.

Suddenly it hit me: the realization that the panic had subsided. That everything was “All right” or “Back to Normal.” And then, I could feel anger beginning to boil in the pit of my stomach.

I wanted to scream, “EVERYTHING IS NOT ALRIGHT!” I wanted to search the restaurant for the truck’s owner and drag them by the ear out of the restaurant to turn it off, lecturing them the whole way.

Instead I worked to compose myself. As I ate, I thought about human nature, and how we humans are so easily assuaged. Things can be scary – really frightening – and as soon as the “All Clear” is sounded, we go right back to what we were doing before. If the tornado sirens go off in the middle of the night, I haul the family and cats into the basement, and, as soon as the weather radio says the threat has passed, we go rather thankfully right back to bed. After the September 11th attacks, there was about a month where everyone was afraid of their own shadow – and kept a close eye on their neighbor’s well-being and a closer eye on the strangers in the grocery store, and everyone knew what color the Terrorist Threat Level was. Today, apart from a significant rise in racial strife, we’re back to some form of normal, and I’d be willing to bet that very few people even think about the Terrorist Threat Level, let alone being able to tell what color we were this week.

So now that gas prices are coming down, and with so many other things to worry about, we need remember. We don’t need to dwell on the rough patches, but we cannot forget the hard-learned lessons of the last decade.

As humans, our brains are wired to remember the good and forget the bad. In this case, learning to use our resources wisely is the good – and should be carried forward.

Even as gas prices continue to fall, this is no time to stop thinking green. The energy crisis of the early 21st century will not be our last, but with proper planning, we can be prepared to withstand the next one.