Dangerous Curve

As any habitue of America's choked freeways, parkways, beltways, highways and byways might have guessed, more than half the gasoline consumed in the world is consumed in the U.S. That statistic implies a profligacy that might be expected to give Americans pause. But with the recession receding and the 1973 Arab oil embargo a dimming memory, Americans appear to be pausing not at all. The Federal Energy Administration noted last week that gasoline currently is being guzzled at a pace that seems certain to drown all previous records.

Consumption is perilously close to the record of 7.3 million bbl. used daily in the U.S. in August 1973, shortly before the October embargo. Since gas sales are highest in summer when more vacationers are on the road, August of the Bicentennial year could be a dilly. FEA has another, equally sobering set of statistics. Whereas in 1960 only 18.8% of oil used in the U.S. came from foreign sources, in the pre-embargo period of 1973 that figure rose to 36.2%. Currently it is about 40%. So much for independence.

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