I am Human, I’m American, and I’m an Addict…

The vast majority of Peak Oil writing and discussion centers around the upcoming date of an all liquids peak and what the subsequent decline rate will look like. There is also active debate on how we can best replace the coming shortfall in fossil energy with renewable flows. Fewer discussions are about relocalizing a global economy dependent on cheap fossil fuels, and how best to live in a world with lower energy availability. And fewer still delve into who we are, how we got here, and what we use energy for. In sum, the majority of our energy conversations, at conferences, schools, institutions, and even blogs, focus on the means, and not the ends. The ends generally remain unquestioned. There seems to be an implicit assumption that worldwide energy demand will continue to grow something akin to a natural law. But in an economic system based on self-interest and on a finite planet, the true drivers of demand need to be better understood beyond the microeconomic mantra “price will change behavior”.

This post looks at our human history on the planet, outlines how the ancient-derived reward pathways of our brain are hijacked by modern stimuli, and concludes that in very real ways, we have become addicted to the ‘consumptive behaviors’ linked to oil. “Traditional” drug abuse happens because natural selection has shaped behavior regulation mechanisms that function via chemical transmitters.

Just as an addict becomes habituated to cocaine, heroine or alcohol, the ‘normal person’ possesses the neural architecture to become habituated via a positive feedback loop to the ‘chemicals’ we receive from shopping, keeping up with the joneses (conspicuous consumption), pursuing more stock options and profits, and other stimulating activities that a large energy surplus provides.

In order to overcome addictions, it is usually not enough to argue about which year the drug supply is going to start to decline.

Its a better path to understand the addiction, admit it before one hits rock bottom, and either begin the cold turkey process or become addicted to something else.

The Oil Drum