1980s oil glut

In the 1980s, there was an "oil glut," which means that there was so much oil (the stuff used to power cars, buses, and other vehicles) that it was very inexpensive and easy to buy. This situation was caused by countries producing too much oil, which made it cheap. Because it was so cheap and plentiful, people used a lot of it, which was good for the economy, but bad for the environment because burning oil releases harmful gases into the air.