By Santiago De Choch
“Back to the Future” is a 1985 film featuring Michael J. Fox as teenager Marty McFly, who travels 30 years back in time, to 1955. While there, he interferes with his young parents’ meeting, and has to amend his mistake by making sure they meet and marry, lest himself is never born and thus erased from history. The movie was a success and is still a pleasure to watch, but this article is not about it. It’s about energy, and agriculture.
In 1955, US oil extraction was about 2.5 billion barrels per year. In 1970, domestic production peaked at 3.5 billion. In Marty McFly’s 1985, it was back to roughly 2.5 bbls/yr, and in decline. By 2015, most easily recoverable oil was gone, but an infusion of cheap credit was financing another upward surge, this time fueled by more problematic, dangerous and difficult reserves: deep sea, previously protected natural areas, and especially, fracking. At 3 bbls/yr, the shale oil boom peaked in 2015, short of the 1970 all-time high, and has been in decline since.
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