1970S GAS CRISES STALLED ECONOMY OIL: RATIONING, FLAGS AND LONG LINES AT THE PUMP HAD AMERICANS FUMING.Byline: Carol Bidwell Staff Writer Many of us started our days before dawn, sitting in line at a gas station, after an Arab oil embargo Oil embargo may refer to:
With the oil-producing nations of the Middle East punishing the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. and others that backed Israel in the ongoing Yom Kippur War Yom Kippur War: see Arab-Israeli Wars. , it was difficult to find a station selling gas. And for the first time since the war, gas rationing rationing, allotment of scarce supplies, usually by governmental decree, to provide equitable distribution. It may be employed also to conserve economic resources and to reinforce price and production controls. was instituted. Drivers of cars with license plates ending in even numbers could buy gas only on even-numbered days of the month; those with odd-numbered plates could buy on odd-numbered days. Some stations adopted a three-flag system, based on supply: A green flag -- not often seen -- meant unlimited sales. A yellow flag meant rationed sales, and a red flag meant the station's tanks were empty. Buying gas meant planning ahead, taking only necessary trips, few pleasure jaunts and sometimes missing things like family birthdays or Sunday dinners. To make things worse, the price of a barrel of oil quadrupled by 1974 to nearly $12, raising the price of a gallon of gas from a national average of 38.5 cents in May 1973 to 55.1 cents by June 1974. The embargo was lifted in March 1974, but the effects of the nation's first energy crisis lingered through the decade. The federal government ordered speed limits reduced to 55 mph. Year-round daylight-saving time was instituted for a time. The big automakers started making smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles. There was a call for everyone to save energy, with resulting research into alternative energy sources. A second oil crisis hit in 1979 in the wake of the Iranian Revolution This article is about the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran. For the political movement in Iran 13 years prior, see White Revolution. The Iranian Revolution (also known as the Islamic Revolution,[1][2][3][4] ; with the Shah of Iran exiled and the Ayatollah Khomeini Noun 1. Ayatollah Khomeini - Iranian religious leader of the Shiites; when Shah Pahlavi's regime fell Khomeini established a new constitution giving himself supreme powers (1900-1989) Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini, Khomeini, Ruholla Khomeini controlling the country, oil exports were cut, and nearly stopped entirely in 1980 after Iraq invaded Iran. After President Jimmy Carter ordered the decontrol de·con·trol tr.v. de·con·trolled, de·con·trol·ling, de·con·trols To stop control of, especially by the government: decontrolled oil and natural-gas prices. of oil prices, the cost of a barrel of oil rose to $39.50 in April 1981 -- an increase reflected at the pump. Long lines In communications, circuits that are capable of handling transmissions over long distances. appeared once more at gas stations; experts estimated that Americans wasted 150,000 barrels of oil a day idling while waiting to buy gas. The federal government printed gas rationing coupons, but they were never used as the crisis finally eased. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Long lines of cars snaked around local gas stations on May 9, 1979, the first day of gas rationing in California. Gas station trips were limited based on an even/odd rule. File Photo |
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