Crude oil consumption and economic growth have a near-perfect correlation.
In fact, Art Berman, a petroleum geologist and consultant, said as he kicked off the West Texas Geological Society’s Fall Symposium, the nation’s prosperity is due not merely to ingenuity and technological advances but the productivity of its oil reserves.
The productivity in one barrel of oil is the equivalent of 4.5 years of the labor of one human being, he told the gathering. And yet, he said, there is a headlong rush to eliminate fossil fuels in favor of renewables.
“Few people realize they are signing up for zero or negative economic growth, a lower living standard and lower population,” he said. He pointed out that the earth’s population carrying capacity depends on the type of fuel the population uses, and non-fossil fuels can only support 3 billion people.
With a global population just…
