who wrote, "I hope Sam reads this piece and takes it to heart."

This essay gives me a little island of hope in an otherwise endless sea of policy madness.

The price of oil is headed for $100/barrel, and soon that is going to throttle our volume of traffic. Meanwhile, we are constantly throwing American lives and billions of dollars into getting what oil is left. Meanwhile, each drop of oil we burn ruins the climate--the UN said yesterday that if we don't change our ways, the survival of our species (not to mention countless others) is threatene. Meanwhile, Americans are getting fat because they can't walk or even safely bike to their destinations.

It's time for a change. This essay suggests changes.