For the second time in as many weeks, President Bush has gently suggested that Americans should conserve gasoline by driving less. This time he went farther and suggested that the federal government should set the example by encouraging employees to use public transportation and by using less energy. If the president were serious about conservation and not just hoping to minimize the economic consequences of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, he’d follow up with policies to boost automobile fuel efficiency and to promote alternative energy. Instead, expect he and Republicans in Congress to push for more lenient energy exploration rules. Consider it an opportunity lost.

After Hurricane Rita shut down much of the oil production in the Gulf Coast, which was recovering from Hurricane Katrina, the president said that if Americans were “able to maybe not drive on a trip that’s not essential, that would be helpful.” Not exactly forceful, but a nudge in the right direction. “We can all pitch in by being better conservers of energy,” he said before heading off for an aerial tour of Texas regions hit by Rita.

Tourism officials immediately worried that the president’s message would dissuade people from driving to Maine to see the fall colors. First the math. Few tourists will suddenly forgo a 500 mile drive because it costs them an extra $25. Second, the mindset. Trading the daily half-mile drive to school for a walk, combining trips to the grocery store, dry cleaners and pizza parlor or carpoolilng to work could conserve enough gas to make up for a foliage drive. What is needed is a change in daily habits and attitudes, not foregone travel.

Bill White, president-elect of the Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce, said he was “astonished” to hear the president ask people to drive less. But, then he summarized the problem. “If we were driving more fuel-efficient vehicles, it wouldn’t be as much of an issue,” he said. Ending the tax breaks for the largest SUVs and boosting fuel efficiency requirements for all vehicles would do far more to conserve gasoline that the president’s “maybe don’t drive as much” suggestion.

If the president wants examples of government pitching in to reduce energy usage, Maine can provide some. In the last two years, the amount of fuel used by the state’s vehicle fleet has been decreased by more than 550,000 gallons or 4 percent, by switching to hybrid vehicles, using alternative fuels such as biodiesel and by reducing state travel. Participation in the state’s vanpool program has doubled. The capitol and state office building are heated with a biodiesel blend and the energy efficiency of these building has been improved.

President Bush is right that Americans need to be better energy conservers. Stronger federal regulations and a more energy-efficient government could lead the way.