"Hubbert visited a friend who was attending a big natural-resource conference sponsored by the new United Nations. At the conference Hubbert was startled to hear a prominent geologist assert that the world still had 1.5 trillion barrels of obtainable oil, enough to last centuries. "I nearly fell out of my seat," Hubbert recalled later. "I was up here, relaxed, visiting with my friend--and good God Almighty! And nobody said boo." A trillion-and-a-half barrels was "just an utterly preposterous amount of oil." Annoyed, Hubbert raised his hand at the end of the session. The geologist's claims, he said, were "an exercise in metaphysics." The dispute grew heated and did not end in agreement."