To the Editor:

In reply to Mr. Werdinger (see letter, Nov. 17 issue):

Fact: In 1950, worldwide oil reserves totaled 90 billion barrels. By 1993, those reserves had grown tenfold, to 900 billion barrels, and this despite an enormous upsurge in usage. Today, in this country alone, reserves of recoverable oil are nearly 900 billion barrels. The reserves of natural gas and coal are far higher.

This is not to say that fossil fuels will not someday run out – but is it reasonable to believe that in the next 200 to 300 years, the good people of planet Earth will not come up with economically viable alternatives? This is the way a free-market economy works – when the price of a thing goes up, alternatives are sought. Otherwise, we’d still be using whale oil.

Fact: In developing countries, caloric intake has risen from 1,900 calories per day in 1960, to 2,500 calories in 2000. Today, it is estimated at 2,700 calories. The percentage of starving people has fallen to 12 percent, from 40 percent in 1970. This is due primarily to dramatic increases in crop yield, and the increased availability of irrigation.

Fact: Two separate studies by the United Nations conclusively show that claims of massive soil erosion are totally unfounded.

Fact: In 1950, women in developing countries averaged more than six births per woman – today, it is less than three. In the 1960s, the rate of world growth was about 2 percent. It is now just over 1 percent. As a nation’s wealth increases, its birth rate falls. In today’s world, population growth is due mostly to an increase in how long people live, especially in third world countries, and a decrease in infant mortality. The growth rate worldwide is predicted to drop to nearly zero within 50 years.

Fact: Nature preserves are positively associated with a rise in air quality, water quality, and the health of a broad range of species, far too numerous to mention.

It is quite obvious that the wealth of a nation allows it to set aside huge tracks of land that in poorer countries would be seen as valuable for timber, mining and farming. This is the verifiable reality of countries throughout the world.

The above is but a snapshot. To read more, both pro and con, I suggest the reference list found at the end of Michael Crichton’s “State of Fear.”

Bruce Wetter

Enterprise