"Dramatic breakthroughs that would diminish the cost of hydrogen produced by electrolysis of water - high efficiency photovoltaics or cold fusion -- have not materialized, leaving that route still too costly to compete with fossil energy sources. On top of that, we never came close to running out of oil. Instead, the discovery of petroleum reserves continued to outstrip increases in demand, keeping prices low (except for a few periods of artificial shortages)."
Editorial, October 1993, page 67
Actual Petroleum Discoveries, Extraction, and Consumption in recent years:
Location | Discovered | Extracted | Consumed |
---|---|---|---|
U.S. Petroleum 1977-91 | 5 B barrels | 45 B barrels | 92 B barrels |
World Petroleum 1982-1991 | 91 B barrels | 221 B barrels | 221 B barrels |