Gas Prices Are Down—and That's Bad

Gas prices are dropping at last, back down to an average of less than $3 a gallon for the first time in a year. That's good news for recession-fearing consumers, writes Thomas L. Friedman, but there's a downside: the push to drive less and make Detroit build more fuel-efficient cars is disappearing. The oil shock has been "a bad B-movie rerun of the 1980s," and we can't get addicted to oil again.

For the New York Times columnist, the economic crisis shouldn't preclude a green revolution; in fact, green can actually help to end it. We need new federal standards, tax credits for clean energy, and a president whose motorcade gets more than 30 miles per gallon. "We can’t afford a financial bailout that also isn’t a green buildup," Friedman writes—one that both "strengthens America and helps the planet." (More bailout stories.)