Far be it from us to rob the populace of what to some is a sacred privilege. But with all the emphasis on Earth Day, “greenery” and how we must do a better job of stewardship for our natural resources, there’s one convenient truth that we could deal with immediately.

What about those long lines of polluting motor vehicles at fast-food outlets, banks and such? How much fuel is being wasted as machines gurgle away and throw varying degrees of chemical hostility into the atmosphere?

To be sure, the world would not suddenly be cleansed of ozone penetrators if the drive-in lines were gone. But just think how much better off our Big Blue Marble would be if people all over America and the world (where there are other drive-in lines) would cut in half the stuff they are spewing into the air. Could be that even places such as China and India, who enjoy mechanized prosperity along with their abject poverty, could do humanity some good.

We’ve become so terribly dependent upon motor vehicles and the fuel they use to get us where we need, or want, to go. But do we have to waste so much so often just standing around idly, purring our vehicles, while we wait for the burger or deposit slip?

Think about this a bit and the next time you go by a drive-in-active entity around here, imagine what could be accomplished if more people parked their vehicle, shut off the motor and actually got a bit of physical exercise from walking inside the place.

Considering how many of us have come to depend on drive-ins of varying types to indulge ourselves, it is unlikely we are going to see too many attacks of conscience that will make a big difference in this harmful category.

Al Gore posed many issues with his environmentally friendly movie, “An Inconvenient Truth.” Truth is, how much better off would we all be if we inconvenienced ourselves enough to cut down on drive-in line pollution?