Regular unleaded gasoline can be had for well under $3 a gallon. One of the few things sustaining U.S. consumer purchasing power in the face of dismal wages is close to $100 billion saved in energy costs. OPEC's pricing power has been broken, and the United States is about to surpass Saudi Arabia as the world's largest oil producer. Whoopee, energy self-sufficiency! Take that, enviro-pessimists
World daily oil production has surged, from about 75 million barrels in 1999when peak oil predictions were popular—to more than 90 million barrels today. Estimated reserves keep increasing, as well.