EKOS Communications, Inc.

So aptly titled, Linda McQuaig's recent book rests upon one very simple but compelling argument: North Americans are addicted to oil. Like any junkie, we are heavily dependent on it; we have surrendered ourselves to its obsessive-compulsive use when satisfying needs and wants with an energy "fix". But with the highs of instant gratification and pleasure come the lows triggered by a dawning realization of just how messed up things are becoming. During these latter months of 2004, the world's oceans have experienced monstrous abuses because of our addiction to oil. More than 165 million litres of this thick, gooey , toxic sludge spewed into the waters of the Grand Banks as result of a mechanical failure at a Petro-Canada drilling rig, endangering millions of migrating seabirds that where concentrated in the area at the time . A couple of weeks later, two container ships collided off the coast of South China, spilling 450,000 litres , while the following day, a Malaysian-flagged cargo ship grounded and broke apart in Alaska’s Aleutian Island chain dumping approximately 168,000 litres into the sea and along sections of the coastline . The numbers may not sound like much until it is fully grasped that just a few drops on a seabird are all that is needed to cause its death. But the impacts on the planet's ecosystems don't end there. It is now a well established fact that the burning of oil, a fossil fuel laced with carbon, is contributing to global climate change. According to the United Nations' World Meteorological Organization, "[t]he year 2004 is set to finish as the four-warmest since record-keeping began in 1861, fitting a pattern that has placed nine of the past years among the warmest on record." With the global warming comes increasing frequency of extreme weather events such as hurricanes and droughts which are wreaking havoc on ecosystems and species. It is also inflicting immeasurable damage on ourselves, physically, economically and politically. The days of abundant, easy-to-obtain, cheap oil have almost run out – a fact that McQuaig establishes resoundingly. Given this, and the fact that the US demand for it is expected to grow by another 37% over the next two decades , there shouldn't be any surprises that the Bush Administration has made its procurement a national security issue to the extreme point of using war to gain control of the world's second largest reserve located beneath the soils of Iraq. What is stunning is that Canada has largely turned over control of its oil supply to the Americans by virtue of certain clauses in the Free Trade Agreement signed in the early 1990s. On the face of it, the patterns of addiction appear deeply set and impervious to change. But is this so? Watch this interview to find out what McQuaig thinks is necessary for us to kick the habit and whether or not she's optimistic that we can or will.