However, as leading oil historian Dan Yergin points out, prophets of doom have declared that the world is running out of oil at least four times already. Each time, radical improvements in technology made the threat evaporate.
但是，正如知名的石油问题历史学家耶金指出的那样，预言大难临头的预言家宣称世界石油耗尽已经至少有四次了。每次，技术上的大幅更新都使得威胁不攻自破。十九世纪后期，人们用驴来开采石油。今天，人们对在洋底以下3,000米钻井不以为然。在金属采矿和农业方面也有全面的改进。