Part 5, Chapter 32 Summary

For Hydrocarbon Man the 1970s were a time of rancor, tension, unease, and pessimism, and he made massive adjustments to the new realities. The IEA provided a framework for the industrialized countries to evaluate their national policies and research energy sources, as virtually all of them reacted idiosyncratically to the marketplace's changed "objective conditions." In addition to an emphasis on conservation, Japan also embraced "resource diplomacy," wooing oil producers and energy suppliers in the Middle East and around the Pacific Rim. Overcoming the shock and panic of the embargo days as well as apprehension over the functionality of conservation, Japan set the standard for the rest of the world. Already in 1971, MITI had called for the country to invest in "knowledge-intensive" industry rather than energy-vulnerable industries. The 1973 crisis triggered implementation of the new strategy at breakneck speed. France set out to...