The 1973-74 Arab oil embargo was the biggest wake-up call for American consumers. It made us aware of how dependent we had become on resources out of our control. The gas shortage meant spiraling prices, and Americans old enough will never forget waiting in line for hours at gas stations, often to find the gas was gone by the time they reached the pump. Self-restraint and ride-sharing became common. Says historian David Shi, "The same advertisers who had promoted the buy-buy lifestyle were now hired by oil companies and public utilities to convince the public to buy less, heat less, and drive less." Prominent Americans like Henry Ford II and Laurence Rockefeller warned that the gas shortage was a symbol of other resource scarcities to come. Newsweek and The New York Times were among the many publications to look at the bright side. Said James Reston in the latter, "The craziest notion that has hit this country in a long time is that shortages of gas, beef, and a lot of other things are bad for the American people." Ecology began to be taught in schools and universities, using the flood of writings that appeared, including the books, The Limits to Growth and Small is Beautiful. The Cousteau Society and Greenpeace are two of the hundreds of environmental groups that were founded in the 1970s, and Americans joined them by the millions.