Editor:
At the current rate of consumption, our oil supplies would hold out until nearly 2100. However, consumption is not constant. U.S. consumption of oil grows at a steady 3 percent a year, resulting in a 34 percent increase in consumption at the end of 10 years.
More troubling still is the higher rate at which oil consumption is growing on an international scale.
Oil reserves do not have to run out to have catastrophic consequences upon the U.S. economy or quality of life. The danger does not lie in running out of oil, but in running out of cheap, available oil. And with the steady growth in domestic consumption, and exponential growth in foreign consumption, such a situation seems alarmingly possible.
Matthew Miller
Senior, Urban Planning