It was only four years ago that economist and New York Times Columnist Paul Krugman sounded the alarm on peak oil , lamenting that high oil and commodity prices reflect the fact that we live in a “finite world.” But now oil prices are plummeting as U.S. oil production booms due to hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and horizontal drilling. On top of that, a new government report indicates that proved U.S. oil reserves have grown for the fifth year in a row. “U.S. crude oil proved reserves increased for the fifth year in a row in 2013, a net addition of 3.1 billion barrels of proved oil reserves (a 9% increase),” according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Proved reserves are oil and gas plays that are “recoverable under existing economic and operating conditions,” says EIA. As technology improves and the price of oil hits the right level, proved […]