'It Takes A Crisis': How '73 Embargo Fueled Change In U.S.
The 1973 oil embargo, which began 40 years ago Sunday, forced Americans to start thinking differently about U.S. dependence on imported oil. Decades later, the U.S. is in the midst of a homegrown energy boom.
The United States had long taken cheap and plentiful oil for granted, until Saudi Arabia shocked the country by suddenly cutting off all direct oil shipments in retaliation for U.S. support of Israel. Other Arab countries followed suit.
Prices soared. Gasoline lines stretched for blocks. And Richard Nixon became the first of many U.S. presidents to call for energy independence.
"Whenever the American people are faced with a clear goal and they are challenged to meet it, we can do extraordinary things," he said.
One outgrowth of that '73 embargo was a new, bipartisan group in Washington dedicated to energy efficiency. The Alliance to Save Energy still exists, and its president, Kateri Callahan, says there has been a lot of progress.
"Since the 1970s, our economy has doubled its energy productivity. We're producing twice as much for each unit of energy that we use," she says.
But the commitment to efficiency has been uneven, rising and falling with the price of gasoline. When gas prices tumbled in the 1990s, Americans traded in their fuel-efficient cars for SUVs. Callahan says the U.S. still lags other developed countries in its energy-efficiency gains.
"We had a flurry of activity. And then, because of cheap oil and easy and abundant resources, we were lulled into complacency. So it takes a crisis to mobilize the United States, unfortunately," she says.
After dipping during the recent recession, crude oil prices are now back around $100 a barrel, and Americans are rediscovering the benefits of fuel efficiency. Two years ago, automakers agreed to develop cars that will go twice as far on a gallon of gas by 2025.
Parallels
The 1973 Arab Oil Embargo: The Old Rules No Longer Apply