State archivist Gregory Sanford recently drew my attention to an article he'd published in 2007 on responses and plans in Vermont (PDF) after the 1973 oil shock. It begins
We should create a loan program and tax credits to improve the energy efficiency of existing homes and to require new construction to meet energy standards. We should explore alternative, renewable energy sources from solar to wind to wood to hydro. We should use methane from livestock manure to generate power. We should commit to conservation from energy efficient appliances to carpooling. States should be allowed to set fuel mileage targets for cars, coupled with tax incentives for buying fuel efficient automobiles. UVM should make a stronger commitment to energy research. We should be careful of committing to coal and not reduce clean air requirements. We should look at nuclear power only within the context of public safety and solutions to nuclear waste.
Thirty years can dim our collective memory. The above ideas, which sound familiar to us today, were proposed in the mid-1970s as part of Vermont’s response to the 1973 oil embargo launched by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Read the whole thing.