As this dependency grew, so did the risk to the U.S. economy and national security from political instability in oil-exporting countries. For many Americans, the effects of nation's growing dependence on foreign oil came into sharp focus on October 17, 1973, when the oil-rich countries of the Middle East stopped all shipments of oil to the United States. This Arab Oil Embargo caused oil prices to soar. The embargo lasted only five months, until March 18, 1974, but the lesson it taught about depending on Middle Eastern oil remains valid today.

Today more than half of the oil we use is imported. This level of dependence on imports (55 percent) is the highest in our history and will increase as we use up domestic resources. The vast majority (65 percent to 75 percent) of the world's oil reserves are concentrated in the Middle East and controlled by the members of the OPEC oil cartel.

Figure 9 Gasoline shortage Gasoline became scarce in the mid- 1970s, and prices jumped 40 percent.