What is an energy crisis?

What are the similarities/differences between the Energy Crisis of the 1970s and the Energy Crisis of the 2000s? How was the former resolved?

• For anyone who can help me; Thanks! ;)

• Answer:

  The 2008 event (I presume you are referring to the price spike when the spot market hit $145 / bbl around 2008) was nowhere near as disruptive as the 1973-74 event. Reasons: In 1973 North America was far more dependent on oil to provide energy to fuel its economic activity than in the 2000's. Much of electricity generation depended on oil, with almost no nuclear or natural gas generation. Much more residential heating used oil, as well as industrial heating.  Transport and agricultural equipment was far less efficient.  Governments were taken entirely by surprise, believing that OPEC nations could never survive on reduced exports. There existed no strategic petroleum reserve.  There was no marginal oil available at any price on the market. In 2008, spot prices rapidly doubled as well, but the economy was still able to pay the price, even if it hurt, so the overall disruption was much less.  The very high prices encouraged rapid planning of supply from cost-marginal production sources such as Oil Sands, deep offshore, largely depleted fields expensive to resurrect, so the doubling didn't last very long (though some have argued that the price spike seriously contributed to the subsequent economic meltdown, I tend to discount that a lot because the spike didn't last long enough to affect a very large proportion of supply which is often under medium-term contract).  It is debatable that in 2007-08 there never was a really significant shortage, only a speculative bubble which rapidly burst, allowing prices to find a new equilibrium necessary to bring Oil Sands, Tight formation oil and heavy from Venezuela into the mainstream market. The 1973-74 event wasn't resolved, it was absorbed, at the cost of 8 years of vicious inflation. http://www.history.com/topics/energy-crisis http://www.frbsf.org/educationeconomy