President Jimmy Carter - Address to the Nation on Energy Human identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what one owns. Industry will have to do its part to conserve just as consumers will. They made possible the age of automobile and airplane travel. The second change took. Our consumption of oil would keep going up every year. ", "If you lead, Mr. President, we will follow. Several of our discussions were on energy, and I have a notebook full of comments and advice. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a Georgia state senator from 1963 to 1967, and as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975.. Carter was born and raised in Plains, Georgia, graduated from the United States Naval . Too few of our utility companies will have switched to coal, which is our most abundant energy source. What can we do? We should reward individuals and companies who discover and produce new oil and gas, but we must not give them huge windfall profits on their existing wells at the expense of the American people. A Democrat, he was governor of Georgia from 1971-1975, and a member of the state Legislature (in the Senate) from 1963 to 1967. These were the promises I made 3 years ago, and I intend to keep them. To further conserve energy, I'm proposing tonight an extra $10 billion over the next decade to strengthen our public transportation systems. Ours is the most wasteful nation on Earth. We've always been proud of our leadership in the world. We can't substantially increase our domestic production, so we would need to import twice as much oil as we do now. With the exception of preventing war, this is the greatest challenge that our country will face during our lifetime. All of us have heard about the large oil fields on Alaska's North Slope. We have more coal than any nation on Earth. We must not be selfish or timid if we hope to have a decent world for our children and our grandchildren. It hurts every American family. If we fail to act soon, we will face an economic, social, and political crisis that will threaten our free institutions. I will be working closely with them. Our consumption of oil would keep going up every year. One of the most enduring aspects of Jimmy Carter's presidency is his green legacy he embraced environmental stewardship and renewable energy with an . This is an effort which requires vision and cooperation from all Americans. One of the visitors to Camp David last week put it this way: "We've got to stop crying and start sweating, stop talking and start walking, stop cursing and start praying. To jumpstart this program, Carter asked Congress to form an energy mobilization board modeled after the War Production Board of World War II, and asked the legislature to enact a windfall profits tax immediately to fight inflation and unemployment. It's a cause of the increased inflation and unemployment that we now face. I believe that this can be a positive challenge. We were sure that ours was a nation of the ballot, not the bullet, until the murders of John Kennedy and Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. We were taught that our armies were always invincible and our causes were always just, only to suffer the agony of Vietnam. We must face an unpleasant fact about energy prices. It will demand that we make sacrifices and changes in every life. These proposals would provide adequate incentives for exploration and production of domestic oil and gas, but some of the oil companies want much moretens of billions of dollars more. Exactly 3 years ago, on July 15, 1976, I accepted the nomination of my party to run for President of the United States. This incentive for new oil production would be the highest in the whole world. But if we wait, we will constantly live in fear of embargoes. If we wait and do not act, then our factories will not be able to keep our people on the job with reduced supplies of fuel. On the battlefield of energy we can win for our Nation a new confidence, and we can seize control again of our common destiny. Our decision about energy will test the character of the American people and the ability of the President and the Congress to govern. February 2, 1977: Report to the American People on Energy It is a certain route to failure. But we can make that transition smoothlyfor our country and for our children and for our grandchildrenonly if we take careful steps now to prepare ourselves for the future. We've always wanted to give our children and our grandchildren a world richer in possibilities than we have had ourselves. Never speak ill of the dead, the old saying goes, but Jimmy Carter, 98, still lives. They are the ones that we must provide for now. If they succeed with this approach, then the burden on the ordinary citizen, who is not organized into an interest group, would be crushing. Tonight I want to have an unpleasant talk with you about a problem that is unprecedented in our history. Tonight I want to have an unpleasant talk with you about a problem that is unprecedented in our history. During the past 3 years I've spoken to you on many occasions about national concerns, the energy crisis, reorganizing the Government, our Nation's economy, and issues of war and especially peace. He also pledged a massive commitment of funds and resources to develop alternative fuel sources including coal, plant products and solar power. An effective conservation program will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs. If we wait and do not act, then our factories will not be able to keep our people on the job with reduced supplies of fuel. Each new inventory of world oil reserves has been more disturbing than the last. We can manage the short-term shortages more effectively and we will, but there are no short-term solutions to our long-range problems. There should be only one test for this program--whether it will help our country. Those citizens who insist on driving large, unnecessarily powerful cars must expect to pay more for that luxury. ", And this is one of the most vivid statements: "Our neck is stretched over the fence and OPEC has a knife. That is the concept of the energy policy that we will present on Wednesday. We are only cheating ourselves if we make energy artificially cheap and use more than we can really afford. They will endure. to reduce gasoline consumption by 10 percent below its. More of our oil is coming from foreign countries. If we do not act, then by 1985 we will be using 33 percent more energy than we use today. They are going up, whether we pass an energy program or not, as fuel becomes more scarce and more expensive to produce. The tenth and last principle is that we must start now to develop the new, unconventional sources of energy that we will rely on in the next century. More than 6 months ago, in April, I spoke to you about a need for a national policy to deal with our present and future energy problems, and the next day I sent my proposals to the Congress. Pike was instructed to seek out headwaters of the Arkansas and Red rivers and to investigate read more, Spree killer Andrew Cunanan murders world-renowned Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace on the steps outside his Miami mansion. Gradually, you've heard more and more about what the Government thinks or what the Government should be doing and less and less about our Nation's hopes, our dreams, and our vision of the future. With every passing month, our energy problems have grown worse. A graduate of the U.S. This has already started. But I think most of you realize that a policy which does not ask for changes or sacrifices would not be an effective policy at this late date. "I am a farmer, an engineer, a businessman, a planner, a scientist, a governor, and a Christian," Jimmy Carter said while introducing himself to national political reporters when he announced his campaign to be the 39th president of the United States in December 1974.. As journalists and historians consider Carter's legacy, this prelude to Carter's campaign offers insight into how he . They were more convenient and cheaper than coal, and the supply seemed to be almost without limit. But, unfortunately, there are still some who seek personal gain over the national interest. No one will gain an unfair advantage through this plan. But a common national sacrifice to meet this serious problem should be shared by everyone-some proof that the plan is fair. They made possible the age of automobile and airplane travel. Thank you very much, and good night. In 1979, America could still feel the effects of OPECs (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) 1973 cuts in oil production. That's why I've worked hard to put my campaign promises into law--and I have to admit, with just mixed success. January 23, 1979. Politics, Carter said, was full of corruption, inefficiency and evasiveness; he claimed these problems grew out of a deeper, fundamental threat to American democracy. He was not referring to challenges to civil liberties or the countrys political structure or military prowess, however, but to what he called a crisis of confidence that led to domestic turmoil and the loss of a unity of purpose for our nation., At a time when Europeans and the Japanese began out-producing the U.S. in energy-efficient automobiles and some other advanced technologies, Carter said that Americans had lost faith in being the worlds leader in progress. He claimed that Americans' obsession with self-indulgence and material goods had trumped spiritualism and community values. But as I was preparing to speak, I began to ask myself the same question that I now know has been troubling many of you. Point two: To ensure that we meet these targets, I will use my Presidential authority to set import quotas. Supplies will be uncertain. Jimmy Carter's Acceptance Speech, July 15, 1976 Inaugural Address as President, January 20, 1977 State of the Union Address, January 19, 1978 State of the Union Address, January 23, 1979 Energy and National Goals: Address to the Nation, July 15, 1979 State of the Union Address, January 23, 1980 State of the Union Address, January 16, 1981 This problem has come upon us suddenly. In fact, it is the most painless and immediate way of rebuilding our Nation's strength. The nation is shocked when the President tells them to "put on a sweater" instead of turn up the heat (using energy and fuel). This summer we used more oil and gasoline than ever before in our history. Our decision about energy will test the character of the American people and the ability of the President and the Congress to govern this Nation. The American Presidency Project (http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=7369). Unless we act, we will spend more than $550 billion for imported oil by 1985--more than $2,500 for every man, woman, and child in America. And then I left Camp David to listen to other Americans, men and women like you. We need to shift to plentiful coal, while taking care to protect the environment, and to apply stricter safety standards to nuclear energy. It's worse because more waste has occurred and more time has passed by without our planning for the future. Carter retreated to Camp David, where he met with Americans from various backgrounds and spoke . Imports have doubled in the last 5 years. FILE - Lillian Carter is flanked by her sons Jimmy, right, and Billy as she met them down at Billy's gas station, where the Carters and neighbors cleaned fish prior to a town cookout, June 26, 1976. It costs about $13 to waste it. Good evening. We've learned that piling up material goods cannot fill the emptiness of lives which have no confidence or purpose. By acting now we can control our future instead of letting the future control us. Thereafter, I was so dismayed by his presidency that I betrayed my natal Democratic Party and voted for Ronald Reagan in 1980. Jimmy Carter. Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia, November 8, 1977: Address to the Nation on Energy, Notice of Non-Discrimination and Equal Opportunity, Miller Center: November 8, 1977: Address to the Nation on Energy, September 7, 1977: Statement on the Panama Canal Treaty Signing, January 19, 1978: State of the Union Address, September 17, 1978: President Carter's Remarks on Joint Statement at Camp David Summit, October 24, 1978: Anti-Inflation Program Speech, December 15, 1978: Speech on Establishing Diplomatic Relations with China, January 23, 1979: State of the Union Address, July 15, 1979: "Crisis of Confidence" Speech, January 23, 1980: State of the Union Address, April 25, 1980: Statement on the Iran Rescue Mission, August 14, 1980: Acceptance Speech at the Democratic National Convention.
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