The crisis of rising oil and gasoline prices bids fair to wreck the Hawai'i economy and to do so much faster here than on the Mainland because of our extraordinarily heavy dependence on imported oil. This is not an exaggeration.

There are solutions that must be implemented, but are unlikely to be put into effect in time to prevent an economic disaster. Among these are wind, wave and solar energy, hydrogen fuels, ethanol from crops, such as sugar cane grown in Hawai'i, and other biofuel suggestions, and creation of public transportation alternatives, including light rail.

What must be done immediately, therefore, is to identify and implement those steps that are currently available, inexpensive, and possible to implement without lengthy planning and without raging controversy. Two programs come immediately to mind.

The first is also the most obvious and was utilized successfully in the '70s during an earlier time of OPEC-produced raging gasoline prices and inflation: switching from auto commuting and other driving to public transportation, currently TheBus, or carpooling. Many of us during that period kept our cars at home and took the bus to and from work. In my case it meant catching the express bus from Kailua to the Manoa campus and return. While occasionally causing mild inconvenience, those of us who rode the bus or carpooled actually discovered that we enjoyed it. We could read or chat with friends, prepare classes, do the crossword puzzles, do homework or even snooze. Many of us found it to be time well spent. Unfortunately, most of us, myself included, drifted back to automobile commuting after we were told the gasoline crisis was over.

Using public transportation as a substitute for auto driving or carpooling has the great virtue of being quickly available. Of course, if enough of us did use public transportation to produce a significant reduction in gasoline use, that might require new programs and planning, like purchasing more buses (hybrids, if possible), providing subsidies for car-pool vans, and hiring and training more bus drivers and more experts to plan new bus routes, avoid congestion and improve bus stops. But, essentially, switching from our personal autos to public buses or car pools is immediately available for many, probably most, of us.

A second program has been made possible by the Internet and the computer. We might encourage and enable those whose jobs do not require their personal presence on a distant job site, and whose work is largely done in front of a computer, to remain at home or close to home much of the time. Many of us can perform a significant part of our work in front of a computer located anywhere. There are databases and extensive and intensive libraries which can be reached by computer and do not require travel to an external library. Where face-to-face on-site activities, such as teaching, counseling, attending meetings, meeting customers and others are necessary, these can often be scheduled for less than the entire work week.

Furthermore, for those who prefer not to work alone at home, arrangements might be made, with some planning and financial assistance from the state or counties, to rent communal office space close to bedroom communities. For example, there is currently a large office building in Kailua that seems to have many vacancies. These could be used as joint offices or cooperative office space in which non-commuters could share space and enjoy human company that might not be available if they worked at home. These sites might also produce new businesses to serve such non-commuters and their computers. Many of those who give up some or all automobile commuting to utilize these office spaces may be able to walk or bicycle to their office or, at the very least, drive a very short distance.

Much oil and gasoline could be saved by changes such as these, and they clearly seem to be widely available, easy to implement and even pleasant. Furthermore, they would reduce pollution. They are the least we should do until the more complex and expensive efforts to replace oil and gasoline are in place.

Eventually, the rising cost of oil-related necessities, such as electricity and motor vehicle fuel, and its terrible effect on Hawai'i's economy, will drive Hawai'i citizens to remedies such as these. But we cannot wait for "eventually." What is immediately required to move our citizens to leave their automobiles behind is outspoken leadership and effective public relations. We cannot wait until the inflationary effect of obscene oil and gas prices wrecks our economy and produces a depression.

Let's get with it!

Richard S. Miller is a retired University of Hawai'i law professor and former dean of the university's law school. He wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.