Project Independence
Project Independence was an initiative announced by U.S. President Richard Nixon on November 7, 1973[1], 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[2] through a national commitment to energy conservation and development of alternative sources of energy.[3] Nixon declared that American science, technology and industry could free America from dependence on imported oil [4](energy independence).
Some of the important initiatives to emerge from Project Independence included lowering highway speeds to 55 mph (89 km/h), converting oil power plants to coal, completion of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System and diverting federal funds from highway construction to mass transit[3].