For the people of the United States, uneventful no longer described daily life. At one time, the citizens could drive where they pleased without being limited by battery capacity since cars and truck ran on gasoline. Food was in plentiful supply before the farm land became covered with solar panels and wind generators, not to mention crops grown for ethanol. Frozen food freezers in stores seldom had products in them since they used so much electricity that power rationing had to be implemented so that the government offices and projects could operate. Each time the people complained the standard answer was ‘sacrifice must be made to save the planet.’ To say that people were tired of saving the planet didn’t do justice to their attitude. Yet, they felt powerless to change the thinking of those in the halls of tyranny.

Molly had been dwelling on all those things for several minutes as they traveled home. She looked at Marvin and said, “Daddy I’m hungry. Let’s stop to eat. I want a hamburger, fries and a nice cold salad.”

“Well Molly I’m sorry, but there isn’t any place out here to eat. All of the restaurants have closed. When the people moved away from the small towns, there wasn’t any business. You’ll just have to wait until we come to Nirvana. There are nice places there and they serve great veggie burgers and other health foods.”

“Daddy, does Al Gore eat all that stuff?”

“I’m sure he does since he has been a leading crusader to limit the number of animals to control methane emissions. Not only that, but animals consume the grain needed for ethanol and there has to be a limit on who can raise animals for food, plus who can receive a permit for a farm and where it can be located.”

“I bet Al Gore doesn’t eat veggie burgers and health food,” Molly said with a sneer.

“Now Molly that is foolish. Mr. Gore sets the example for all of us to follow.”

“I don’t think so,” Molly said with her voice full of doubt. “You can’t get as fat as he is by eating veggies. He looks like a blimp.”

Anger wasn’t part of Marvin’s normal behavior, but he was having a difficult time with it since Molly’s comments were becoming very annoying. He swallowed hard and breathed deeply a couple of times. “Molly, you must not talk about Mr. Gore that way. He spends all his waking hours making sure that we don’t need to worry about the planet. He is making huge sacrifices to do what he does.” Much to the relief of Marvin, his daughter didn’t reply, but when she did, Marvin winced.

“Daddy, Mr. Gore lives in a big house in Tennessee that uses more energy in one week than we use in two months. He flies around in big airplanes and has big cars to take him to all those places he visits. If what he is doing is sacrifice, then the rest of us are barely living.” Silence engulfed the car.

A police officer flagged the Earth Saver Custom Deluxe to a stop at the intersection of Highways 92 and 127. Marvin cranked the window down and asked, “Is there a problem officer?”

“Yes, you’ll have to turn right onto 127 and go through Wilson Falls and then follow Route 51 back to this highway. It’s out of the way, but there isn’t any alternative.”

“What’s the problem? Has there been an accident?”

“Thankfully there isn’t an accident. A truck hauling batteries to the  auto dealer in Nirvana ran out of power on the long grade up ahead before he was able to make it to the top. To make it worse, the tow truck is stalled also. I’m told that the driver burned out his motor trying to pull the big truck. We need two big trucks with  diesel engines to clear the highway of both trucks, but the air quality is above the acceptable particle limit. We’re waiting on the Air Quality Bureau to issue an emergency waiver so the diesels can be used.”

Molly leaned over so she could see the officer. Before Marvin could stop her she asked, “How long will it take to clear the highway?”

“We don’t know. The official who issues the permits isn’t available.”

“Of course, you might know, another one of the joys of utopia.”

“What did she say?” the officer asked angrily.

“Oh, she said it was a joy to live in utopia,” Marvin said, glaring at his daughter.

“Daddy I didn’t—”

“Thank you officer, we’ll be on our way.” Marvin turned the car onto 127 and looked at Molly. “Young lady, you have to be careful with what you say. The officials don’t take kindly to criticism, especially from little girls. We aren’t to question the wisdom of the experts.”

Deserted house dotted the barren landscape on each side of the road; an area that at one time boasted fine farms and happy families. After several miles of being silent, Molly looked at her father and asked, “Why are all the houses empty?”

“The people had to move away.” Marvin thought short answers might work better but quickly found out that didn’t work either.

“Why?”

 “They couldn’t farm anymore.”

“Why?”

“Their land was condemned.”

“Why?”

Exasperated, Marvin said, “Molly is why the only word you know?”

“No.”

“Then use other words if you must ask questions.”

“Okay, what’s the reason their farm land was condemned?”

A big sigh escaped Marvin’s lips. “The government Department of Energy Management needed the land for solar collectors. The owners wouldn’t sell so the land was condemned.”

“Did the government sell the land to the power companies?”

“Yes, it did.”

“I read about the court decision that allowed that to happen. It was the Kelo decision that said that public use meant that private developers could take land for the greater good. That isn’t right to take property and give it to someone else.”

“When people won’t co-operate then the government must step in to solve the problem. Green energy is more important than the farm land.”

“Where did all the trees go?” Molly innocently asked.

“They had to be cut down to make room for the solar panels and the wind powered generators.”

“I’ve  been reading in the old books that grandpa gave me that the levels of CO2 and air pollutants didn’t begin until all the trees were cut everywhere.  

“That’s what the unenlightened scientists say, but Mr. Gore says differently and we must accept his knowledge on the matter.”   

“The last I heard he isn’t a scientist or an expert on anything except manufacturing hot air and boloney.”

“Who told you that?” Before Molly could reply, he said, “I know who, it was your grandpa.”

Two hours later, they arrived in Nirvana and stopped to eat. Molly didn’t have a salad. Vegetables were now rationed since the demand had outstripped the supply. Ethanol crops, solar panels and wind generator farms made the good land needed to grow food crops very scarce. Though Molly ate her veggie burger in silence, her mind was going a mile a minute. It was a good thing her father couldn’t hear what she was thinking. (To be continued.)

© 07-03-2008 DEC