The world economy is experiencing a disorienting flashback to the 1970s. Oil prices are surging in the wake of war in the Middle East, and that's driving up the cost of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel and threatening a return to stagflation. But the U.S. and world economies are less vulnerable now than they were when Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern petroleum producers withheld oil supplies to punish countries that supported Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Countries have since embarked on a new course to increase their energy efficiency, reduce their dependence on Middle Eastern oil, stockpile fuel against future threats, and find and develop alternative sources of energy.