America’s Oil Dependency – Addiction or Policy

Today many Americans discuss our nation’s energy problems in the frame of “oil addiction”. Such talk is found at the corner bar, in the news media, and even in a President’s State of the Union address. While the term addiction conveys a seriousness and gravity, it also conveys a sense of helplessness, a lack of control and ultimately a lack of responsibility.

In truth America’s dependency on oil is more complex than addiction. It is in part a function of decisions and policy made by us the people through our elected representatives. Further, it is the consequence of interrelationships and interdependencies within our economic system and between government and the private sector that have made cheap oil the energy policy of the land for over half a century. The nation deserves a deeper understanding of the subject of national energy policy than the term addiction allows:

1. Addiction implies uncontrolled or compulsive use of something. Addicts see their fate as beyond their control and often feel powerless to change their circumstances. Addiction frequently follows the path from helplessness to hopelessness and ultimately to victimhood. So the message of oil addiction may imply, directly or indirectly, that America is not in control of its oil consumption but is instead a powerless victim of it.
2. Most addicts see no alternative to their habit. They will do whatever it takes, including act compulsively and irresponsibly, to get the next dose or fix. The message of oil addiction can subtly convey the idea that oil is irreplaceable and that America must adopt whatever national policy is required to feed the habit, even accepting compulsive or irresponsible actions by government.
3. With addiction there is a sense that complete recovery is unlikely if not impossible – it is said that once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic. And while controlling the addiction may be possible, this usually implies a very long and very difficult period of withdrawal with many steps along the way. Therefore oil addiction may imply an inevitable and perhaps even a perpetual tie to oil, that can never be ended, but only perhaps reduced, and then only through a very prolonged and measured transition.

The more America thinks of oil and energy in terms of addiction, the more likely our citizens will accept dysfunctional economic, political and environmental policy as an inevitable consequence.

We need to be thinking instead about what we want from our national energy policy and what it is capable of providing. Can we adjust the policy to reduce dependency on a politically and economically volatile commodity like oil? Can a sound policy help provide cleaner, renewable forms of energy to our economy? Can it stimulate job growth and wealth creation in the U.S. instead of sending billions of dollars overseas?

Policy that enables a transition away from oil and other fossil fuels may represent one of the greatest opportunities for insuring both America’s prosperity and the stability of the earth's climate system in the 21st Century. Hopefully the new government in Washington will begin making informed decisions about energy policy very soon. This will be a change in itself, since addicts are incapable of making informed decisions.

Andrew J McKeon

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