I've been a lazy blogger in the past 24 hours, but if you've been a lazy news consumer, you might not know that Dubya says his country has an an oil addiction to deal with.

A Globe and Mail story looks at how addressing that issue is easier said than done:

Mr. Bush vowed in his State of the Union address on Tuesday to achieve a 75-per-cent reduction in U.S. oil imports from the Mideast by 2025 through a renewed commitment to renewable energy and new technologies.

"In order to stay competitive, America must end its dependence on oil," Mr. Bush told a crowd in Nashville yesterday, returning to the same theme. "When you're hooked on oil from the Middle East, it means you've got an economic security issue and a national security issue."

The Mideast currently provides less than 20 per cent of U.S. crude imports, but reducing that figure any further will be a challenge because the bulk of the world's oil reserves are located in the region and other suppliers -- with the notable exception of Canada, the United States's biggest source of imported crude -- have their own problems.

"It's the holy grail of U.S. policy, trying to cut down their dependence on the Middle East," said Leo Drollas, deputy director of the Centre for Global Energy Studies in London, "but it's one thing to say that and another doing anything about it."

Russian oil production has not been rising as quickly as anticipated, while Mexican production is stagnant and is likely to start declining soon, Mr. Drollas said.

"Venezuela is a real basket case and Nigeria is looking a little bit worrisome," he continued. "If you look around at the other oil suppliers, there isn't much there."

Canada, which has been boosting its exports south of the border, is a welcome alternative, Mr. Drollas said. "Canada offers prospects of more supplies through development of the tar sands in Alberta."

What's different about Mr. Bush's State of the Union approach is that he's proposing that Americans turn to alternative technologies, including hybrid engines and ethanol to power cars, and clean coal, wind and solar energy for electricity output. In so doing, the former Texas oilman dropped any reference to increasing domestic U.S. oil production, particularly from the environmentally sensitive Arctic Wildlife Refuge.