I remember reading "The Limits to Growth" when it first came out. It was required job reading for a public relations operative for the nuclear power industry, my first job out of college. The industry felt it would be a convincing argument for the rapid development of nuclear power and they insisted I be familiar with it.

I was very impressed by the Club of Rome's little book, and must admit it has influenced my thinking ever since, including my eventual choice of career. I knew that management and mapping of earth resources would be a useful and rewarding way to earn my living for the rest of my life. I was not mistaken.

I worked in exploration mapping and geological remote sensing for a major oil company from 1978 through 1984). In fact, one particular Scientific American monograph I read while I worked there corroborated your article's comments on peak oil even back then. It showed that the percentage of successfully producing well holes remained fairly constant from the early days of Pennsylvania drilling to the late 70s. The only difference was that the old oil explorers drilled at random, while over the years since the mid-nineteenth century our knowledge of where to drill and our ability to do so increased enormously. You see, good geology can tell you where oil might be found, not whether there is any actually there or not.

Thanks for this update from American Scientist. I am sure you will receive many informed comments from our Zoners, whether they actually read it or not.