Re: We will find out within our lifetimes
Actually I made a mistake. The industrialized nations consume 50 million barrels per day. The world total including non-industrialized nations is 75 million barrels per day, as shown on that website. So based on that the known reserves will actually last about 23.7 years - exactly what I expected. However this does not take into account the increase in consumption. I would have to recalculate that.... but I can tell you we are in big trouble if scientific american is correct.