1. Do you need oil at home or in the office?
2. Do you drive because you “need” to?
3. Do you sometimes drive alone, rather than with others?
4. Do you feel like you are stuck in the past? For example, do you drive a vehicle that is less fuel-efficient than the Model-T Ford? (If your vehicle gets less than 24 mpg, the answer is yes)
5. Is driving one of the first things you do in the morning?
6. Does your vehicle “guzzle” gas?
7. Does a significant portion of your budget go to feed your addiction?
8. Do you involve your family or friends in your addiction?
9. Do you feel helpless to end the addiction? As if there were no other options?
10. Do you need to use oil to get you through the day?

Did you answer yes to at least two questions? Then you have a problem with oil addiction.

Did you say yes to four or more questions? If so, your addiction is serious.

Don’t despair—you aren’t alone. OAA provides a forum for connecting with others and making change. Chances are, you know other addicts who want to take a stand and speak out, people who are just waiting for someone to give them a little nudge. Make a list of these friends and invite them to their first OAA meeting.

Sign up to Join OAA

Already have a group? Take Action!

An OAA group is whatever you make of it. There are many ways of reducing our dependence on oil, and we may need to take advantage of all of them. While we believe that each group should pick the solution that works best for itself and its members, we felt it would be useful to offer a few handy suggestions:

1) Start working on the alternatives. In order to end our addiction to oil, we need to transition to something else. We know already that countless alternatives exist, but because of the world's current power structure, they aren’t being implemented. Since the auto and oil companies won’t change, it's up to us. Why not start your own bio-diesel collective and supply your community with alternative fuel? Start your own Plug-in Electric Hybrid working group and help get municipalities near you to place vehicle soft orders (check out www.pluginpartners.com for more information). Start a wind or solar project. Start a bicycle collective to build bike lanes. Or feel free to get creative and figure out your own way to end oil addiction. The sky is the limit, and no idea is too big or too small to get us started.

2) Work to pass a "Greenfleets" resolution for your campus, city or state. A Greenfleets resolution is one way to ensure that the vehicles your institutions buy are highly fuel efficient. Institutional buyers (cities, campuses, businesses, etc.) buy over 30 percent of the vehicles on the road today. Improving the fuel efficiency of these vehicles will go a long way toward reducing pollution in your community, influencing gas-guzzling auto manufacturers to build more fuel-efficient cars, and lessening our dependence on oil. Download a Greenfleets kit.

3) Adopt your local dealer. We suggest adopting a Ford Motor dealership because Ford has consistently ranked at or near the bottom of the auto industry in fleet-wide fuel efficiency. The Adopt-a-Dealer program is an easy way to get involved in the movement to break our oil addiction. Forming a coalition between local residents and Ford dealers is an effective tool for reforming the automotive companies and changing corporate practices. Download an Adopt-a-Dealer packet.

4) Become a Neighborhood Oil-Watch Block Parent. Oil addiction is a disease that must be fought neighborhood-by-neighborhood across the globe. Start the fight today by getting your neighbors together for a meeting and by putting a neighborhood "oil watch" sign in your window—officially becoming a safe haven for petroholics that are seeking to end their addiction. Contact us to get signs or SUV tickets for your neighborhood today.

We encourage you to join this growing movement. Call OAA national at (800) 497-1994 ext. 230 or (415) 398-4404 and let them know that you are ready to end the addiction.  Or email at OAA@globalexchange.org or nile@ran.org.