Someone on Facebook invited me and 99,000 other people to an event called ‘Don’t Pump Gas Day’ on May 15.

I have no idea what I’m doing on May 15, so I clicked “Maybe Attending.” Most likely, since finals will be over, I will be sleeping late, eating pizza in front of the TV and not buying gas, anyway.

However, if my friend calls me for an emergency lift and I need gas, I’m going to buy it. If a potential job tells me to come in for a same-day interview, I’m going. I’m not going to say, “Well, I would, but it’s ‘Don’t Pump Gas Day’,” unless I want to eat more pizza on my couch next week instead of working.

Besides, I probably won’t need gas. I only bought gas on four days in both March and April, because I have no money and live near a bus stop.

I wouldn’t injure the profits of the oil companies by saving $60, and even 99,000 people abstaining from gasoline won’t scratch the surface.

Even if everyone in the U.S. took part, the oil companies would only post a loss of three percent for May.

One bad day in one month does not break a business, especially if they see it coming.

Do you seriously believe that if 99,000 people know about ‘Don’t Pump Gas Day’ and posted bulletins all over MySpace, the oil companies aren’t already planning to jack up the price on May 16 and collect even more revenue than they would have?

If I were an oil executive, that’s what I’d do, because Americans consume 25 percent of the world’s oil products, of which gasoline is only one.

Americans will continue to buy gasoline because we have suburbs, where driving is essential, and commuting involves millions of gasoline-engine cars stuck in traffic. They aren’t going anywhere, literally.

In fact, the automobile is why we have suburbs in the first place. The suburban lifestyle depends on oil. If we ever ran out, we’d have some major problems.

Yes, it’s scary, but if you really want to make a dent, there are other ways. Quit using plastic bags and synthetic clothes. Stop using Styrofoam plates and wash your dishes. Better yet, make every day ‘Don’t Pump Gas Day’.

I know, it’s not realistic, but just because we are a modern society of technology doesn’t mean technology rules us. People already have Don’t Pump Gas days, even around NIU. Critical Mass meets the last Friday of every month and holds a bike rally. Believing In Culture hosted a Siblings Day picnic in Central Park last weekend with free burgers and hotdogs, providing an activity that didn’t require driving.

In fact, the DeKalb Cyclery depends on Don’t Pump Gas days to stay in business. Their customers have the answer: Every once in a while, don’t drive.

Why don’t you start your own weekly or monthly day where you and your friends do something fun without using any gasoline? Host a Don’t Pump Gas bingo game or play Frisbee golf. Invite your neighbor over for a coffee or a beer. Go feed granola bars to the ducks and watch them chase you around until the food is gone.

Then, start a Facebook group, not an event. Invite all your friends and tell them to do the same. Just think, if 99,000 people join the group and stop buying gas once a week every week, they would consume 14 percent less gasoline in every month of every year.

And if the oil ever runs out, it won’t force a painful cataclysm upon the suburban lifestyle, because we will already have adopted a new lifestyle free of oil addiction.