As Earth Day comes to a close for another year, it’s clear that, like climate change, public opinion is turning inexorably, and in a singular direction.

No one’s asking if Honolulu will expand its recycling efforts, but when and where. Not if Hawaii will aggressively adopt non-oil forms of energy — solar, wind, geothermal, OTEC, wave — but when and how. Not if Oahu will adopt an alternative to commuting by cars on a freeway, but what that alternative will be. Not if climate change is an important issue, but whether it’s the most important one we’ve ever faced.

Reaching consensus on our common environmental problems is a battle that’s been won. The hard part is still to come: making the monumental changes necessary to achieve victory.  Comparatively speaking, building a train from Kapolei to Ala Moana won’t be that hard. Imagine a Hawai’i in which every home generates more renewable energy than it needs. Or cars that generate zero emissions. Or consumers who generate zero waste. Imagine a life without gasoline.

All these things may have sounded fanciful not too long ago, but not anymore. Because the last one, the end of gasoline: That’s pretty much a sure thing.