We'll never run out of oil, says Don Boudreaux...

Are we running out of oil? The question seems silly. "Yes" is the obvious answer.

Or is it?

That there is less oil in the ground today than there was yesterday is true. That there was less oil in the ground yesterday than there was in 1870 is also true. But "running out of oil" is not as much a question of physics as it is one of economics. And economics assures us that we will never run out of oil.

My colleague Russ Roberts explains why in his book The Invisible Heart. Imagine, Russ says, a room full of pistachio nuts. You love pistachios and can eat all that you wish as long as you throw each empty shell back into the room whenever you eat a nut. You might suppose that you'll eventually devour all of the nuts in the room. Their number, after all, is finite. More...

See also:

• Rising oil prices? Shell makes US$8bn profit in just one quarter!!!
• Like Shell, Exxon posts record $11.68 billion profit!!!
• Can alcohol replace petrol as fuel? If so, why don't we know about it?
• The Story of Stuff ( that everyone must see)