The new oil price increases pose serious challenges to the energy and economic policies of industrialized nations in general and the US in particular. The international energy system which emerged after 1973 was extremely unstable; rapid economic development in the member nations of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries brought with it inflation, unsound urbanization, an adverse impact on traditional industry, and weakened social and political values, particularly in Saudi Arabia and Iran. President Carter’s attempts at energy conservation and legislation were quashed by Congress, and all the consuming countries were unable to coordinate activities, even in the face of strikes by Mideast oil workers. The US refused to limit consumption or decontrol prices, even in the face of European criticism. The declining availability of reliable supply will continue, worsened by the USSR threat and political unrest. The US must use less imported oil, reduce overall consumption, develop its own sources, and examine alternative fuels before it is too late.
