energy use history, united states
The above link gives an article for energy use in the united states going right back to colonial times.
I can't be that precise from looking at the chart, but it looks like oil use in the US has increased maybe 4000 percent since 1900. Coal use has barely tripled, and wood more or less leveled off.
The US population in 1900 was about 76 million. The US population today is maybe 300 million. They have four times as many people to feed. 40 times as much oil is consumed. I have trouble looking at these numbers and imagining America going hungry unless oil became very scarce indeed. (In our lifetimes, at least, I think the problem would be mostly making coal energy clean enough that people wouldn't mind so much having it in their backyards.)
In very recent history, China has been managing to produce enough food to feed itself. This on a much lower per capita oil consumption than the United States. They do use slightly more coal.
coal use per capita;
#1 China: 1,310,000,000
#2 United States: 1,060,000,000
oil use per capita;
#1 United States: 20,730,000 bbl/day
#2 China: 6,534,000 bbl/day
And check out India;
oil use per capita;
#6 India: 2,450,000 bbl/day
coal use per capita;
#3 India: 339,000,000
With a population close to China's, and with this kind of energy consumption,
Quote:
India is still a big unknown. While it has been a small net
agricultural exporter overall since 1990, in recent years there
have been many changes in its agriculture and trade policies
and significant changes in its net trade position for many
individual products.
|
sourceforindiaquote
Even if India came even close to feeding itself, say 90 percent, her per capita oil use would put the lie to the idea that the US is anywhere near having any trouble getting enough oil to feed itself. Of course, this is with eating a lot of grain, but also with a lot of people in the developing world (which I define as including India and China.) eating more meat than they used to.
Source for energy use per capita;
energystatistics
Not that anyone not already in the choir will accept any of this. Assuming any of
them are still awake.