Volume 53, Number 10 · June 8, 2006

The US in Peril?

By Jeff Madrick
American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century
by Kevin Phillips

Viking, 462 pp., $26.95

In the early 1970s, the United States imported approximately one third of the oil it consumed. Today, it imports almost 60 percent and by 2025, so the Energy Department forecasts, the US will probably have to import 65 percent of its oil. Meanwhile, worldwide demand for energy will rise rapidly, especially as China and India increase their consumption, keeping up the prices American consumers and businesses pay for gasoline, home heating oil, kerosene, and jet fuel, as well as other petroleum products crucial for industries like plastics and pharmaceuticals.



Review, 4414 words

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