The Arab world responded to our support of the Israelis in their conflict in the fall of 1973 by an embargo of oil exports to us. Prices at the pumps here rose from 39 cents per gallon in the summer of 1973 to 59 cents in early 1974. The shock had American consumers calling for alternate energies, but most of the initiatives begun then were forgotten once prices settled down a bit. Petroleum, Americans learned, is a very hard substance to replace!