THE world is running out of oil. That much is scarcely in doubt, even if it is less clear just how long it will take. Nowhere is this predicament felt more keenly than in the US, where consumers are having to pay a record $3 for a gallon of gasoline. This might seem a pittance to Europeans used to paying twice that, but in the great car economy that is America it amounts to something of a crisis.
Members of Congress embarrassed themselves recently trying to soothe the nation’s energy anxiety. Their proposals ranged from an investigation into oil companies…
