I wouldn’t be the first person to analogize Americans’ thirst to fossil fuels to an addiction. The arch-environmentalist George W. Bush said the US was “addicted to oil” in his State of the Union address in 2006. What we do for the Mexican drug gangs in terms of addiction to their products while advancing their bank accounts and undermining the rule of law both south and north of the border, we also do for OPEC, the Canadian tar sands producers, and our friends at BP, ExxonMobil and those other good folks so concerned with preserving the climate system, the public health and the environment, consumers’ pocket books and the country’s balance of trade.
Here’s a take from my brothers and sisters at the Post Carbon Institute. They are among those “…leading the transition to a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable world.” You may not agree with all of the conclusions here, but it’s a concise, largely accurate, punchy and beautifully made video.