Читать книгу Solar Water Heating--Revised & Expanded Edition - Bob Ramlow - Страница 11

Soon after oil was first discovered in the mid-1800s there was a glut, keeping its price very low. With the advent of mass-produced automobiles, there was a steady demand for oil, and prices became stable, rising at a rate at or slightly above the inflation rate. During World War II, fossil fuels were diverted to the war effort, so they became hard to get and more expensive. After the war, fuel again became plentiful and relatively inexpensive. During the postwar period, per-capita consumption of fossil fuels skyrocketed.

It is important to note that until the 1970s, almost all the oil used in the United States was produced here. In 1970 the United States reached peak oil production while demand continued to escalate. About 1996, imported oil overtook domestically produced oil for use in US consumption.