The world’s crude oil supply is decreasing. In 50 years, the supply will be significantly depleted. Yet demand continues to rise steadily. In the 1970s, the United States imported 24% of its oil. Today, we import nearly 70% and that number is growing. World oil production peaked in 2005. Principal oil fields are aging and production rates are declining at 6.7% per year.
In 2008, the Energy Information Administration of the US Department of Energy called the current energy system “patently unsustainable,” and stated that we need “radical action.”
