Yeah, it's not that hard to become energy independent if there's a will to do it. Though Ron Paul is opposed to government programs to influence the free market, as president he has the ability to call a news conference with every major network at any time, and a simple press conference on changing one's lifestyle to a more environmentally-friendly one would do wonders. Buying smaller cars, asking people to get involved in municipal government to set something up like velib in Paris (and other European cities: that's the bicycle program where you rent bicycles but don't have to return them to the station where you got them from; instead you park it at the nearest station and somebody else can use it), etc. etc. Since making one's country energy independent is a patriotic thing to do, it's an easy sell and wouldn't cost the taxpayer a cent. Just keep bringing up the issue to keep it in the news, and eventually people will follow along.