This fall and summer have been, to quote that great philosopher Yogi Berra, like deja vu all over again. When gas prices shot up after Katrina, it reminded me of the late 1970s, when gasoline and oil prices shot up after the turmoil in Iran. I remember being outraged when gasoline shot up to $1.33 a gallon at my neighborhood gas station.

Then, as after every spike in gas and oil prices, smaller cars became more popular. Then gas prices went back down, and the size of cars inched back up. Jimmy Carter in his sweater became the stuff of comedy routines.

This week, the Raleigh City Council strengthened water conservation measures.

That didn't take me back quite as far, but it did take me back -- to the summer of 2002. Remember the drought of '02?

By May, it had become front page news in North Carolina. By July, every town in Wake County had water restrictions.

Photos like the one in Thursday's N&O of a parched lake bottom (and parched everything else) were all over the news. Terms like "disaster" and "catastrophe" were liberally thrown around, and authorities were urging water conservation.

But the fall of '02 brought abundant rain. And with the rain, concerns eased.

By November, Cary, Apex and Morrisville were the only remaining towns with water restrictions.

Hard times come and hard times go. But do we learn our lesson, or do we only get more inured to the pain?

I do try to conserve gas now, but back in December when it was $1.81 a gallon, was I outraged? Nope. I didn't even flinch as I filled up my SUV.

This drought, in at least one measure, is worse than the summer of 2002 -- the level of Falls Lake, which supplies Raleigh with drinking water, is lower right now.

According to Jayne Kirkpatrick, director of the city's Public Affairs Department, Falls Lake as of Wednesday stood at about 243 feet -- below the lowest level reached in 2002.

It's "frustrating," Kirkpatrick said, that authorities must call for new conservation measures after every drought. She noted Mayor Charles Meeker wants a comprehensive strategy to conserve water.

Shall we add water to the list of resources we can't seem to get serious about conserving?