For Exercises 22-24, refer to the following. The formula for the average growth rate over a period of time is even simpler than the one for the exponential reserve of a resource. If usage at the beginning is and at the end of an interval of years it is , then the average annual rate of growth is
24. The average annual increase in oil consumption in the United States during 1993-2004 was nearly 2%. In fact, consumption in 1993 was 6.291 billion barrels and consumption in 2004 was 7.588 billion barrels. What is a more accurate (two-decimal-place) estimate of the average annual percentage increase in oil consumption? (From 2004 through 2007, growth was zero, due to much higher prices for oil; and growth was again zero from 2008 to 2011, due to the world recession.)