I agree with a lot of what you are talking about. I, too, am starting to look at my lifestyle and I am learning to be more self sufficient. Even if there wasn't a talk of reccession, people learning to be more self sufficient and lessen their impact on the earth is a good thing for everyone to do. Not everyone can live on a farm with all their favorite foods at their fingertips, but there are a lot of things families who live in highrise appartments can do to that end.
However, I'm sorry to say that the rising cost of gas in NOT just a conservation problem. What you are suggesting about the entire nation not driving for three days is simply a case of armchair activism. You can read more about that here:
http://www.breakthechain.org/aa.html and here:
http://www.breakthechain.org/exclusives/gasout.html
That is not to say that I am critisizing you for your effort, the energy crisis in America in a complicated issue and cannot be solved with a single effort. And as far the the "next depression," Dictionary.com defines an economic recession as, "an extended decline in general business activity, typically three consecutive quarters of falling real gross national product."
The same site defines an economic depression as, "a period of drastic decline in a national or international economy, characterized by decreasing business activity, falling prices, and unemployment." These definitions indicate that the main difference between a recession and depression is the magnitude of economic decline. A depression is simply a severe recession. And I heard on TV that most of the time, we can't even tell we are in a recession until it's over.
Now I'm not one to throw political issues on a board that isn't about political issues so, I will stop here. That's my opinion.