Over at CEPR, Dean Baker makes a somewhat cutesy but still quite illustrative comparison: the barrels of oil per day we could get by 2027 through offshore drilling (when production rate will max out) vs. the oil savings we would have gotten per day if we’d continued ramping up the CAFE standard at roughly the 1980-1985 rate. Here’s what he came up with:

drilling vs. CAFE

Reader support helps sustain our work. Donate today to keep our climate news free. All donations DOUBLED!

Hm, efficiency or a crack addict’s desperate search for increased supply? Tough choice!

Grist thanks its sponsors. Become one.