Energy conservation was a concept largely unfamiliar to America—and to much of the rest of the world—prior to 1973. Certainly some thinkers prior to that date thought about, wrote about, and advocated a more judicious use of the world's energy supplies. But in a practical sense, it seemed that the world's supply of coal, oil, and natural gas was virtually unlimited.

In 1973, however, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) placed an arbitrary limit on the amount of petroleum that non-producing nations could buy from them. Although the OPEC embargo lasted only a short time, the nations of the world were suddenly forced to consider the possibility that they might have to survive on a reduced and ultimately finite supply of the fossil fuels.

In the United States, the OPEC embargo set off a flurry of administrative and legislative activity, designed to ensure a dependable...