美国一位地质学家预测，如果开采速度维持目前水平，世界石油产量将在１５年内开始下降。俄亥俄州托莱多大学的地质学家克雷格·邦德·哈特菲尔德说，只有开发替代燃料才能防止出现石油产量下降带来的全球性经济灾难。他在为科学杂志《自然》撰写的一篇评论中写道：“世界石油 A US geologist predicts that if the mining rate maintains its current level, the world’s oil production will begin to decline in 15 years. Craig Bond Hatfield, a geologist at the University of Toledo in Ohio, said only developing alternative fuels would prevent a global economic catastrophe caused by a drop in oil production. In a commentary he wrote for the science magazine Nature, he wrote: "World Oil