Well, it's kind of relative....cars used to get 4 mpg when gas was $0.59 per gallon. Now gas is $5.80 a gallon but most get 20 mpg or as high as 40 mpg.
Just imagine how much oil we'd have if, when they first discovered the benefits, they used it as efficiently as we do now?
The good old days: when school yards were paved, and we played on apparatus that had sharp steel edges, chains, and old tires.......kids learned that if you aren't careful, you get hurt. Nowadays they are so protected that they never learn (sometimes until it's too late).