\Hi. My name is Austin, and I am addicted to oil,"" said Alder Austin King, District 8, at Wednesday's inaugural meeting of Oil Addicts Anonymous, an organization focused on the issue of American overuse of petroleum.
King's confession was one of many offered by the OAA attendees, including both students and community members, who admitted to being ""petroholics"" and pledged to take action against their oil consumption.
""We basically talk about...America's addiction to oil,"" said Rainforest Action Network organizer Dan Firger. ""By that we mean that America has 5 percent of the world's population, but we consume 25 percent of the world's oil.""
Madison's OAA chapter is the first in a series being founded by the Rainforest Action Network, a national nonprofit organization. RAN is committed to the broader issues of global warming, species extinction, deforestation, and abuses of human rights, all of which result from the world dependence on fossil fuels, according to Firger.
""Oil Addicts Anonymous ... isn't a real self-help group,"" said Firger. ""It's more like a way for people to ... take responsibility as Americans for the fact that we do consume so much oil.""
Besides OAA, RAN features two campaigns that target specific facets of the oil industry. The Global Finance Campaign focuses on multinational banks investing in oil and therefore funding environmental destruction.
The second campaign, Zero Emissions, targets the Ford Motor Company, which reports the worst fuel efficiency of any automobile manufacturer. The goal is to pressure the company into cutting cars' gas emissions.
""What are the true costs of these emissions?"" asked Sarah Connolly, a RAN organizer. ""Sure, you pay a couple dollars at the pump ... but that price doesn't nearly cover all the destruction that is associated with the extraction, transportation and use of oil.""
The OAA meeting encouraged local actions to combat oil ""addiction,"" including simply using public transportation, riding a bike or walking. King highlighted that even the municipal government is a part of this effort.
""When you talk about city politics, I don't think a lot of people connect it to the environment,"" said King. ""But it has a lot to do with how we live, how we choose to live, the kind of communities we create, and whether those communities create people that are wholly dependent on the automobile.\
