O-mama - Opinionated Moms

Hi.  My name is The United States of America, and I am an addict.  I am addicted to oil. Although I'd like to say it is a recent lapse in judgment, the truth is that I am a long-time addict. I've been hooked on foreign oil since 1970, when my demand began to exceed domestic production. That’s when I first realized I was a junkie…another time, another crisis...I'll be honest though, I've been on a forty year high and I haven't really wanted to quit.  However, recent events in the Middle East and here at home have made it impossible for me to continue to ignore my addiction.   I am hurting not only myself,  but am even negatively impacting the lives of people I love near and far.  I've hit rock bottom.  

At first, I thought that my reliance on oil was fairly manageable by most standards, kind of like a functioning alcoholic. But I can no longer deny that the power of my addiction is ugly and out of control.  It's putting my economic independence, national security and environmental future on the line. I am fearful that the best 12-step program in the world may not be enough to break my overwhelming addiction to oil.  I am an addict and I need help.

I can't quit cold turkey. I consume approximately 23 percent of the world’s petroleum annually, 57 percent of which is imported.  I spend upwards of one billion dollars a day on overseas oil, instead of investing that money back in my own struggling economy that needs the cash.  But I don’t care - I am an addict. I’ve let large oil lobbies methodically suppress research and development opportunities for clean energy alternatives because I cannot wait for my next fix. I don’t worry about the ramifications for the future. I want it quick and easy. I want energy now, not 10, 20 or 30 years from now. I have literally been breaking open my kids' piggy banks and stealing money out of my mom's purse to pay for my addiction. I have been using them to get my next hit.  It's never enough.  I always want more. I just don't have the money to keep it up anymore. I have been stealing money, borrowing money, begging for money, selling myself...doing whatever I need to do to fund my habit.  I have become selfish and self-destructive.  All I think about is how to get more oil and who I can hit up to pay for it.  I can finally admit it.  But, I can't stop.  I am an addict and I need help.

My dealers are named Chevron, BP, ExxonMobil and Shell. Ironically, they are all publically traded companies and available for purchase to the American public.  Sadly, they are my enablers.  They help fund the dealers.  The dealers keep me hooked.  The suppliers keep the oil flowing.  Everyone makes money.  It's good business, I suppose, if you are a share holder.  But, I am a junkie. I am not making money, I am wasting it.  When I need a fix, I’m not picky about who my suppliers are.  I import approximately 4 million barrels a day from nations the State Department has officially deemed “dangerous or unstable.”  It's the equivalent of driving into a sketchy neighborhood and going to a crack house and buying drugs.  I am no different.  It is ugly.  And, I wonder how in the hell I have sunk so low?   I have deceived the American people into believing that oil consumption has no direct corollary to our national security. But in reality, I have snuck around and made deals that have risked the safety of our citizens by doing business with countries that don't like us...and want me to stay addicted.  I have sent my armies around the world to protect my oil habit.  I have compromised myself and sacrificed so much to make my enemies rich at the expense of my own country, my own family.

Venezuela, one of our top five oil exporters, has maintained a distinctly anti- American foreign and energy policy, even after profiting from an oil export rate to the U.S. of approximately 435 million barrels a year. Experts show that even though we prohibit oil trade with countries such as Iran, our bottom-line daily consumption of crude oil still lines the pockets of those oil-producing countries. My addiction’s demand drives up world oil prices, which translates into profit for those countries, regardless of the buyer.  

And now, I am ashamed that my need for so much oil has caused me to risk my life again, and the livelihoods of the people in the Gulf of Mexico.  I took chances that I had no business taking.  I can't get enough the way I used to, so I drill deeper, where no one can see and judge me.  I could have gotten support and put the proper safeguards in place, but I didn't.  I wanted it now.  I wanted it fast and I didn't care about the risks involved.  It's like doing heroine with a dirty needle or having sex without protection.  That's what happens when you are an addict.  It's all about the quick fix and immediate high, damn the risks.

Experts, including the Pentagon, report that the environmental consequences of my bad habit is not only crippling me with oil gushing from my pores and lapping up on my shores, but contaminating so much more.  It could be devastating for the entire world. Predictions about the continued burning of fossil fuels include climate change that can destabilize governments, displace hundreds of millions of people due to frequent and severe natural disasters, result in higher instances of disease, rising sea levels, and food and water shortages. It is out of control.  But, even if I don't care about what "might" happen, I can't deny what is already happening and the cost - financial, emotional, national and environmental.  How can I continue to put those I love at risk, too?  I know better, yet I continue to jeopardize our health, safety and security, because I can't stop. I am an addict and I need help.

So what do I do? Where do I turn?  I have gotten myself into this mess and pulled everyone down with me.  Whether it is drugs, alcohol, or tobacco, the power of addiction is undeniable. I will always be an addict.  I know that.  But, there is still hope...I know my future, can be very bright.  In the long-term, life could be so much better.  We would all be healthier, safer and more prosperous if I could just kick the habit.  But, it depends on a delicate balance of maintaining national and economic security, while building an infrastructure for a greener, more energy independent tomorrow.  But, it can't happen over night. I know that.  It is going to be a long, hard road.  

Treatment for my addiction is possible with sufficient support and a plan for recovery. It’s no easy task, but what other choice do I have?  I have to clean up my act or I will end up killing myself...and hurting the people that depend on me. It will be hard on all of us.  I know that most Americans, approximately 73%, say that a ban on deep water drilling is unnecessary, calling the worst spill in U.S. history a “freak accident.”  I will need their support to wean myself off of oil.  We have all been in denial for a long time about the depth of the problem.  We have pretended it wasn't that bad; that we could quit anytime.  But, the costs have just slapped us in the face.  We can't keep up the rouse any longer.  We are out of control right now and we'll all have to make sacrifices to free me of my addiction. I know that it has become so ingrained in the comfort and ease of all our lives, we mask our co-dependence every time we leave a light on, use a plastic bag or drive somewhere. We ignore the addiction and "pretend" that it will be o.k. even if we don't change a thing.  We can't pretend anymore.  In fact, the first step to the 12- steps to recovery has to start at home...with the people that love me the most.  Deep down, my citizens and my companies know that if they are not part of the solution, than they are part of the problem.  I am an addict and I need help.