Opinion
LaDuke: U.S. is a country of energy junkies


"The U.S. is the wealthiest and most dominant country in the world, and we can�t keep the lights on in New York City nor can we provide continuous power in a "liberated" Baghdad. Centralized power production based on fossil fuel and nuclear resources has served to centralize political power, to disconnect communities from responsibility and control over energy, and to create a vast wasteful system. We need to recover democracy. And one key element is democratizing power production.

Let�s face it, we are energy junkies. The U.S. is the largest energy market in the world, and we consume one third of the world�s energy resources with 5 percent of the population. We are undeniably addicted - whether to an economy based on burning of fossil fuels and wasteful production systems, or to oil. Ninety-seven percent of the total world oil consumption has been in the past 70 years. We even slather oil-based fertilizers and herbicides on our food crops."

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LaDuke: Wind not war, Democratizing power production (Indian Country Today 1/12)