Meadow Networks

Boston Globe 2/3/2006

Going Cold Turkey on Oil
Us? Addicted to oil? And so what?

Clinically, addiction means dependence and a loss of choice, and the worst kind of addiction is both physical and psychological. We seem to have the worst kind. We would find it very difficult, or maybe impossible to get to work without a car. We can’t buy food, see our friends, go to little league games, ski for the weekend, get our moms to the hospital. And we think our car is a reflection of ourselves. Think about what you pay at the pump today. Now double it. How does that fit your budget, week in and week out? I wonder if we’ll turn to crime?

We will likely be able to cobble together solar, wind, and nuclear power sources to satisfy our electrical energy demand, but 95 percent of our transportation sector is fueled by oil for which the future of substitutes is bleak. Both biofuels and hydrogen won’t be coming online in quantity for another 20 years. Lingering concerns over supply and CO2 emissions make biofuels an imperfect substitute; hydrogen fuel faces difficult technical and daunting infrastructure supply challenges. The reality is that over the next decade, we are looking at hybrid cars and $5/gallon gas with increasing prices as we compete on the global market for the depleting oil supply.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse lists thirteen “Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment.” Subsidizing the drug – paying work-related tolls and parking with pretax dollars; giving $400 million to oil companies to encourage the building of new oil refineries; and paying for roads and highways with Federal dollars – isn’t on the list. A little over half of the principles do seem to apply:

• No single treatment is appropriate for all individuals.
• Treatment needs to be readily available.
• Effective treatment attends to multiple needs of the individual, not just his or her drug use.
• An individual’s treatment and services plan must be assessed continually and modified as necessary to ensure that the plan meets the person’s changing needs.
• Remaining in treatment for an adequate period of time is critical for treatment effectiveness.
• Counseling (individual and/or group) and other behavioral therapies are critical components of effective treatment for addiction.

Particularly insightful is the principle “Treatment does not need to be voluntary to be effective.” We know we’ll be kicking and screaming on the way to rehab, but don’t we wish someone with the power would do that dragging?

Lastly, and thank goodness for us “Recovery from drug addiction can be a long-term process and frequently requires multiple episodes of treatment.” We just might have the time to do what is needed if we stop whining for subsidies that will only prolong the addiction, and let those with the muscle (that means you, legislators) make us face our addiction head on.

I wish us all good luck.