68
At the same time, southern and western cities were experiencing population and
economic expansions because the widespread, post-war use of air conditioning had
made living in the south much more bearable. Most of the southern expansion was
targeted onto low-cost farm land in formerly rural areas adjacent to towns, creating
rings of suburban sprawl around such cities as Atlanta, Dallas, and Houston. Another
factor was the fear of atomic weapons during the early days of the Cold War, when
many people felt that the suburbs would be less of a target than the central parts of
cities in the event of a nuclear exchange.
In any case, the suburbs had been built for the automobile without the transportation infrastructure that existed in the inner cities. City transport options like buses,
streetcars, and electric rail lines were simply not available in the suburbs, and even
pedestrian sidewalks and bicycle paths were often hard to find. The only major postwar transportation infrastructure project built on a national level in the U.S. was the
Eisenhower Interstate Highway System, and the new freeways quickly became the
preferred travel route from anywhere to anywhere.
Thus, the automobile became the primary means of transportation in America.
By the end of the 1960s, the United States had become almost totally dependent on
gasoline-fueled vehicles for travel to work, shopping, church, school, and almost
everywhere else. Institutions like drive-in movies, drive-up bank tellers, and drivein restaurants were established in response to the ascendancy of the motor car, and
became common sights on the suburban landscape. Families often owned multiple
vehicles, especially if they had driving-age children. Prior to World War Two, owning more than one automobile per family was practically unheard of, except for the
very wealthy.
The proliferation of cars in the suburbs soon led to their increased use within the
cities themselves. Many older American cities, especially those in the east had street
layouts designed in horse and buggy days. For example, less than 5 minutes of driving around in downtown Boston should be enough to convince anyone that the city
is not designed for automobiles. Newer, western cities like Los Angeles were constructed with automobiles in mind, resulting in truly mind-boggling urban sprawl
and making Los Angeles the largest city in the United States in terms of land area.
The movement of vehicles into and out of cities as people drove to and from work
resulted in yet another post-war invention: the rush hour traffic jam.
The energy crisis left people stranded in the suburbs with an empty gas tank in a
useless car and no other transportation options. Because of the spread-out nature of
the suburbs, walking was impractical for most tasks. Suburbanites felt helpless.
When gasoline did become available, drivers discovered that the cost had doubled,
and then quadrupled as the OPEC-controlled market ratcheted up the price of crude
oil (Merrill 2007). Some people may chuckle today at the thought of gasoline prices
rising from 40 cents a gallon in the fall of 1973 to $1.60 a gallon by the spring of
1974, but for a modern-day perspective, multiply the cost of your next fill-up by
four. Imagine $25 worth of gasoline costing $100. This is the level of financial pain
inflicted on the American consumer by the OPEC embargo and gasoline price hikes.
It wasn’t just gasoline. Heating oil, jet fuel and diesel fuel also experienced similar shortages and price increases, impacting homeowners with oil heat and straining
4 The Energy Crisis and Unconventional Resources
At the same time, southern and western cities were experiencing population and
economic expansions because the widespread, post-war use of air conditioning had
made living in the south much more bearable. Most of the southern expansion was
targeted onto low-cost farm land in formerly rural areas adjacent to towns, creating
rings of suburban sprawl around such cities as Atlanta, Dallas, and Houston. Another
factor was the fear of atomic weapons during the early days of the Cold War, when
many people felt that the suburbs would be less of a target than the central parts of
cities in the event of a nuclear exchange.
In any case, the suburbs had been built for the automobile without the transportation infrastructure that existed in the inner cities. City transport options like buses,
streetcars, and electric rail lines were simply not available in the suburbs, and even
pedestrian sidewalks and bicycle paths were often hard to find. The only major postwar transportation infrastructure project built on a national level in the U.S. was the
Eisenhower Interstate Highway System, and the new freeways quickly became the
preferred travel route from anywhere to anywhere.
Thus, the automobile became the primary means of transportation in America.
By the end of the 1960s, the United States had become almost totally dependent on
gasoline-fueled vehicles for travel to work, shopping, church, school, and almost
everywhere else. Institutions like drive-in movies, drive-up bank tellers, and drivein restaurants were established in response to the ascendancy of the motor car, and
became common sights on the suburban landscape. Families often owned multiple
vehicles, especially if they had driving-age children. Prior to World War Two, owning more than one automobile per family was practically unheard of, except for the
very wealthy.
The proliferation of cars in the suburbs soon led to their increased use within the
cities themselves. Many older American cities, especially those in the east had street
layouts designed in horse and buggy days. For example, less than 5 minutes of driving around in downtown Boston should be enough to convince anyone that the city
is not designed for automobiles. Newer, western cities like Los Angeles were constructed with automobiles in mind, resulting in truly mind-boggling urban sprawl
and making Los Angeles the largest city in the United States in terms of land area.
The movement of vehicles into and out of cities as people drove to and from work
resulted in yet another post-war invention: the rush hour traffic jam.
The energy crisis left people stranded in the suburbs with an empty gas tank in a
useless car and no other transportation options. Because of the spread-out nature of
the suburbs, walking was impractical for most tasks. Suburbanites felt helpless.
When gasoline did become available, drivers discovered that the cost had doubled,
and then quadrupled as the OPEC-controlled market ratcheted up the price of crude
oil (Merrill 2007). Some people may chuckle today at the thought of gasoline prices
rising from 40 cents a gallon in the fall of 1973 to $1.60 a gallon by the spring of
1974, but for a modern-day perspective, multiply the cost of your next fill-up by
four. Imagine $25 worth of gasoline costing $100. This is the level of financial pain
inflicted on the American consumer by the OPEC embargo and gasoline price hikes.
It wasn’t just gasoline. Heating oil, jet fuel and diesel fuel also experienced similar shortages and price increases, impacting homeowners with oil heat and straining
4 The Energy Crisis and Unconventional Resources