The author fears that fossil fuels will be exhausted in the near future because

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If present trends continue, the world would face a major crisis by the end of this century; insufficient cheap, convenient energy. For without such energy, industrial production will fall, agricultural output will drop, transport will be restricted and standard of living in developed countries will plummet. At present, almost all our energy comes from fossil fuels. The earth’s reserves of fossil fuels have been formed from organic matter subjected to enormous heat and pressure for millions of years. But such reserves are finite. Because power demand is increasing very rapidly, fossil fuels will be exhausted with a relatively short time. We can estimate the amount of recoverable fuel under the surface of the earth and we know the rate at which it is being extracted. Fairly simple calculation can therefore determine its remaining life. If present trends continue, gas and oil reserves will be exhausted by the middle of the 21st century. Similar estimates for coal and wood reserves suggest a projected supply of 250-­300 years: of course, long before fossil fuels are exhausted, demand will greatly exceed supply. For too many years, the world has consumed fossil fuels with little thought for the future. In fact world energy consumption increased almost 600%: between 1900 and 1965 and by another 450% 1965 and the year 2000. Crude oil has been pumped out of the ground for about 100 years, but over half of it has been consumed in the past in 18 years. Coal has been mined for over 800 years, but over a half of it has been extracted in the past 37 years. To sum up, most of the world’s consumption of energy from fossil fuels throughout history, has taken place within.