Addiction to oil isn’t limited to U.S.

During last week’s State of the Union address, President Bush uttered the words few thought he would ever say: “Here we have a serious problem. America is addicted to oil.”

To be sure, the U.S. is the biggest consumer of crude in the world. But it is hardly alone in its addiction.

A review of data from the International Energy Agency shows Canada’s consumption mirrors that of the U.S., even though many people lump our northern neighbor with European countries when it comes to environmental attitudes. And China, that rapidly industrializing giant among Asian economies, has seen its increasing capacity to swill oil blamed for some of the run-up in crude prices.

The fear is that China, which is sure to be a topic of today’s Cambridge Energy Research Associates conference, is just getting warmed up.

Houston Chronicle