In 1950, the United States was largely self sufficient on oil.  It was the world’s largest producer and exporter of oil.  It was the largest creditor nation and large tool manufacturer. She had just emerged relatively unscathed from of the second of two world wars for which her unprecedented access to oil proved the deciding factor.

The sun was rising on America.  She was embarking on an ambitious plan to rebuild the destroyed cities in Europe, after having recently completed building over two million homes largely for returning GIs.  This was the beginning of the suburbanization of America that has continued to present day, and sparking intensive highway development for decades. These developments further solidifying American’s love affair with the automobile and redefining the American Dream.

America was rapidly automating.  In the following decades thousands of people, disproportionably blue collar African Americans, would be replaced by machines.  All of these machines required energy derived from fuel.  In fact this was end of the muscles. As of the mid fifties, virtually all of the work done in the United States was done by fuel as opposed to human or animal labor. And most of that was and still is fossil fuels.

In this context of American exuberance and seeming mastery of the world, M. King Hubbert took a stand that was antithetical to the accepted view of what was “normal”, forecasting that the ultimate source of American power – oil – Texas gold - was headed for imminent decline – and he did it in the heart of the oil patch.