Project Independence

Project Independence was an initiative announced by U.S. President Richard Nixon on November 7, 1973, in reaction to the OPEC oil embargo and the resulting 1973 oil crisis. Recalling the Manhattan Project, the stated goal of Project Independence was to achieve energy self-sufficiency for the United States by 1980 [Canada's Energy Crisis, James Laxer, p.41] through a national commitment to energy conservation and development of alternative sources of energy. [World Energy Resources, Charles E. Brown, p.227] Nixon declared that American science, technology and industry could free America from dependence on imported oil. [U.S. Dept of Energy [http://energy.gov/about/timeline1971-1980.htm] .]

Some of the important initiatives to emerge from Project Independence included lowering highway speeds to 55 MPH, converting oil power plants to coal, completion of the Trans-Alaskan pipeline and diverting federal funds from highway construction to mass transit. [World Energy Resources, Charles E. Brown, p.227]

References