As any habitué of America's choked freeways, parkways, beltways, highways and byways might have guessed, more than half the gasoline consumed in the world is consumed in the U.S. That statistic implies a profligacy that might be expected to give Americans pause. But with the recession receding and the 1973 Arab oil embargo a dimming memory, Americans appear to be pausing not at all. The Federal Energy Administration noted last week that gasoline currently is being guzzled at a pace that seems certain to drown all previous records.
Consumption is perilously close to the record of 7.3 million bbl. used daily...