Olive oil, do you?

Energy quiz litters North Side.

These small flyers were stapled on telephone poles, Dumpsters and just about anything nailed down  on the North Side. A local man posted them apparently hoping passersby might stop, answer the questions, examine their lives, write down contact information on the backs of their hands, go home to their computers and seek help.

The questions target personal oil consumption. The quiz, called "Are you addicted to Oil?" is provided by the Global Exchange, "a membership-based international human rights organization dedicated to promoting social, economic and environmental justice around the world."

About a week after the flyers were posted, many were ripped down, crumbled and tossed on the street. Littering, it seems, is okey-dokey for the environment in the pursuit of oil consumption awareness.

Dish called Global Exchange to seek a response to this theory and others. Like, oh, what if you can't walk to your job from the bus stop in the snow but your employer provides handicapped parking (a la Mrs. Dish). No one from the organization replied.

Here is the quiz. Enjoy:

How do I know if I am an oil addict?: A 14-question quiz to see if you are addicted to oil:

1. Do you need to use oil to get you through the day?

2. Do you need oil at home or in the office?

3. Do you drive because you "need" to?

4. Do you sometimes drive alone, rather than with others?

5. Do you feel like you are stuck in the past? E.g. you drive a vehicle that is less fuel-efficient than the model-T Ford? (If your vehicle gets less than 24 mpg you must answer yes to the above question)

6. When you go on a date do you ask to be "picked-up"?

7. Is driving one of the first things you do in the morning?

8. Does speed "turn you on"?

9. Do you ever "guzzle" your gas?

10. Do you ever forget where you are driving or how to get there?

11. Does a significant portion of your budget go to feed the addiction?

12. Do you involve your family or friends in your addiction?

13. Do you think driving an SUV will make you more "manly"?

14. Do you feel helpless to end the addiction? As if there were no other options?

*Everyone we know has unfortunately answered yes to at least two of these questions, most to four or more. That means we as a society have a problem with addiction. Oil addiction is systemic, and getting out of the addict mentality is going to require a system-wide effort to institute system-wide change. O.A.A. hopes to provide a place to start.

*Remember petroholism is an illness. Anyone can become addicted. Male, Female, Transgendered. Young, Old. White, Black, Yellow, Red. Rich, Poor. But, generally speaking petroholism affects Old, Rich, White Men the most.

Send your answers to Dish.