After World War II, energy consumption in the United States skyrocketed. The primary causes of increased energy spending were infrastructure projects, including the Eisenhower Interstate System, and the side effects of veterans returning home, including demand for new jobs (Tverberg). In mid-1973, before the embargo, the United States had low domestic reserves and had to import about 27 percent of the crude oil it needed each year. In other words, the United States was dependent on foreign oil imports from countries over which it had little control and with which it had poor relations (OPEC states). The energy crisis, which consisted of an oil embargo and rising prices, highlighted America's dependence on foreign oil and caused rapid and widespread panic in the country in 1973 and again in 1979. The fear that resulted from the energy crisis was irrational. , the United States had the means to produce energy domestically, but the panic that followed in the 1970s projected to the world that we were completely dependent on foreign oil, giving immense power to members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other countries. -producing countries. In order to regain its oil independence, the United States adopted legislation aimed at conserving energy. Legislation resulting from the energy crisis and consumer demand for fuel-efficient automobiles gave U.S. automakers the boost they needed to increase fuel economy. Between 1958 and 1969, pro-Arab governments were installed in the oil-producing states of the Middle East, namely Iraq, Algeria and Libya. At the same time, the "Seven Sisters", seven predominantly American oil companies that controlled much of the international oil trade during the preceding period...... middle of paper ...... in the 1970s. and beyond. The competitive status of the American automobile industry: a study of the influences of technology in determining international industrial competitive advantage. Washington, DC: National Academy, 1982. 133-49. Print.Tverberg, Gail. “World energy consumption since 1820 in charts.” Our world is over. Np, March 12, 2012. Web. June 11, 2014. .United States. U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Energy, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Effects of the Alternative Fuels Act CAFE Incentive Policy. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, March 2002. Web. June 9, 2014. .Wilbur, W Allan. OPEC oil price hikes. Washington: Congressional Quarterly, 1980. Print.