The 1979 Oil Crisis

Pat Oliphant, June 28, 1979. Published in Los Angeles Herald Examiner. Image Courtesy of UCLA Library Special Collections.

This political cartoon concerning the 1979 oil crisis was published in the Los Angeles Herald Examiner on June 28, 1979. It depicts three stereotypical mobsters, representing “Big Oil”, saying “Big Oil wanted us to drop by and ruin da rest of your summer by informin’ yous of our extortion plans for da comin’ winter!” to a sunbathing man presumably meant to be synecdoche for the residents of Los Angeles (or perhaps the United States in general). The cartoon was illustrated by the Australian-American artist Pat Oliphant, who has won the Pulitzer Prize for his work and was dubbed “the most influential cartoonist now working” by The New York Times.

During the settlement of California, one major draw of Los Angeles was the abundance of oil. Between 1917 and 1926, 10 oil fields were discovered beneath the basin, leading to a period of mass production during which Southern California accounted for over 20% of the world’s crude oil output (Quam-Wickham, 191). As a result, during the 1920s, Los Angeles’ population practically doubled, and the state became largely dependent on oil. This reliance, especially in Los Angeles, was driven by the automobile industry. Throughout the twentieth-century, many residents of the region conformed to the new trend of car ownership due to the ample oil supply and the dispersion of residential epicenters (also a result of the region’s oil development). This in turn caused an increased demand for gasoline. Another lesser but still significant use for oil in Los Angeles was heating. Although only 3% of the West uses this method of heating today (U.S. Energy Information Administration), it was historically a crucial method by which people warmed their homes in the winter (which is addressed in the cartoon). This brought a new reason for Angelenos’ to vie for the precious liquid. Today, California consumes about 1.7% of the world oil market (Borenstein), but only contributes a fraction of this amount. Since the Los Angeles oil boom of the 1920s, California’s oil production has decreased. In 1979, California consumed 662,545 barrels of petroleum and 1,8l0 billion cubic feet of natural gas, but only produced 341,297 barrels of petroleum and 248,106 million cubic feet of natural gas (U.S. Energy Information Administration). As a result of the discrepancy between oil produced and oil consumed, California (and the United States in general) was, and still is, heavily reliant on imported oil.

Two notable “oil shocks” (increased price of oil often due to decreased production) took place in the United States during the 1970s: one beginning in 1973 and the other in 1979. Los Angeles’ enormous dependence on oil meant that when these energy crises occurred, chaos ensued. The first shock took place when Saudi Arabia and other major oil producers in the Middle East stopped exporting to the United States and Europe to support Egypt and Syria in the “October War” against Israel. The second oil crisis is officially thought to have been due to the decrease in production by Iran in 1978 upon the onset of the Iranian Revolution, and a 14.5% increase in the price of oil implemented by the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on December 17, 1978 (Cooper, 39). World production was said to be down by 7%, between 4.5 and 4.8 million barrels per day, by January of 1979 (Graefe, Cooper, 39); however, public opinion was that the shortage was fabricated by OPEC and oil companies in an attempt to profit. This view is expressed in the cartoon by representing “Big Oil” as dishonest criminals seeking to exploit consumers. Polls conducted by CBS, The New York Times, and Roper revealed this skepticism, with over 60% of the respondents consistently reporting that they believed the energy crisis was either not real or not as bad as was reported to the public (Richman, 577). This was not unfounded, as the Library of Congress later concluded that the lessened output was insignificant, and other factors contributed more to the subsequent panic than an actual lack of oil. Nonetheless, the effects of the fear of an energy shortage were still prominent. This was especially true in Los Angeles, due to high car usage and lingering memories of the 1973 oil crisis. Drivers would wait hours in lines stretching half-a-mile for gas, occasionally resorting to physical violence to obtain the substance. Some areas employed gas-rationing and conserving policies, such as restrictions on which days drivers could get gas based on the last digit of their license plate, the reduction of the maximum speed limit to 55 miles per hour, and year-round daylight savings time (to reduce driving hours and hence gas use). Gas stations also took to posting different colored flags to inform patrons of available supply: green if there was gas, yellow if rationing was necessary, and red if there was no gas. Ultimately, as a result of the repeated crises, the public concluded that the dependence of the U.S. on foreign oil (and on oil in general) needed to be reduced by developing new technologies and shifting reliance to other energies (namely coal, nuclear, and solar).

In the National Resources Defense Council’s article “Fueling the Future: A Plan to Reduce California’s Oil Dependence,” Rolan Hwang proposes that these concerns be addressed by investing in hydrogen fueling system infrastructures. He explains that “in a fuel-cell vehicle, the electricity produced, by combining hydrogen and oxygen, runs an electric motor; consequently, it uses no oil and has zero tailpipe emissions.” This would not only eliminate the issue of dependency on imported oil, but also the hazards of drilling and oil use. In 2016, 25 retail stations were permitted to sell hydrogen as a transportation fuel, and 23 stations were under development to sell hydrogen to the public; however, building such infrastructure is not enough. Public education and support are also necessary to reduce California’s dependency on oil. Hwang predicts that if these measures are taken, “by 2020, consumption would be reduced by 7.5 billion gallons, equivalent to a 39 percent reduction in projected demand.”

Works Cited

1. “A Conversation with Pat Oliphant.” Miller Center, University of Virginia, 23 Feb. 2017, millercenter.org/news-events/events/conversation-pat-oliphant.
2. Big Oil, Collection of Newspaper Cartoons, Collection Number 1433, UCLA Library Special Collections.
3. Borenstein, Serevin. “Keep California Oil in the Ground? The Goal Is Good, but the Policy Doesn’t Pencil Out.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2018, www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-borenstein-high-cost-of-keeping-oil-ground-20180816-story.html.
4. Graefe, Laurel. “Oil Shock of 1978–79.” Federal Reserve History, Federal Reserve History, 22 Nov. 2013, www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/oil_shock_of_1978_79.
5. Hamilton, James D. Historical Oil Shocks. Department of Economics, University of California, San Diego, 1 Feb. 2011, econweb.ucsd.edu/~jhamilto/oil_history.pdf.
6. Hwang, Roland. “FUELING THE FUTURE.” Natural Resources Defense Council, Sept. 2002.
7. Ibrahim, Youssef M, and Andrew Scott Cooper. “Viewpoints Special Edition: The 1979 ‘Oil Shock:’ Legacy, Lessons, and Lasting Reverberations.” The Middle East Journal, no. 17, 2009, pp. 1–136. MEI Viewpoints, www.mei.edu/sites/default/files/publications/2009.09.The 1979 Oil Shock - Legacy Lessons and Lasting Reverberations.pdf. Selected articles within: Oil Shocks and the Reshaping of the Oil Industry (30-32), In 1979 OPEC’s Swing Producer Came Out Swinging (38-40)
8. Myre, Greg. “Gas Lines Evoke Memories Of Oil Crises In The 1970s.” NPR, NPR, 10 Nov. 2012, www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2012/11/10/164792293/gas-lines-evoke-memories-oil-crises-in-the-1970s.
9. Richman, Al. “The Polls: Public Attitudes Toward the Energy Crisis.” Public Opinion Quarterly, vol. 43, no. 4, 1979, pp. 576–585., doi:10.1086/268557.
10. “U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and Analysis.” Factors Affecting Gasoline Prices - Energy Explained, Your Guide To Understanding Energy - Energy Information Administration, U.S. Energy Information Administration, 29 June 2018, www.eia.gov/state/seds/seds-data-complete.php?sid=CA#Consumption.
11. Quam-Wickham, Nancy. “‘Cities Sacrificed on the Altar of Oil’: Popular Opposition to Oil Development in 1920s Los Angeles.” Environmental History, vol. 3, no. 2, 1998, pp. 189–209., doi:10.2307/3985379.
12. Villaraigosa, Mayor Antonio R., et al. “Powering Los Angeles with Renewable Energy.” Nature Climate Change, vol. 3, no. 9, Mar. 2013, pp. 771–775., doi:10.1038/nclimate1985.

Cite this article

Ida Funke, Manya Kidambi, and Devashree Vasavada. "The 1979 Oil Crisis." Los Angeles: The City and the Library. Colleen Jauretche, Editor. Fall 2018. /article/2018-11-21-f18-2-04