jimmy carter address to the nation on energy

They were more convenient and cheaper than coal, and the supply seemed to be almost without limit. But if we wait, we will constantly live in fear of embargoes. The people are looking for honest answers, not easy answers; clear leadership, not false claims and evasiveness and politics as usual. Twice in the last several hundred years, there has been a transition in the way people use energy. We simply must balance our demand for energy with our rapidly shrinking resources. This is one reason that I'm working with the Congress to create a new Department of Energy to replace more than 50 different agencies that now have some control over energy. The generation-long growth in our dependence on foreign oil will be stopped dead in its tracks right now and then reversed as we move through the 1980's, for I am tonight setting the further goal of cutting our dependence on foreign oil by one-half by the end of the next decade--a saving of over 4 1/2 million barrels of imported oil per day. The fifth principle is that we must be fair. I'll read just a few. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search . But after listening to the American people I have been reminded again that all the legislation in the world can't fix what's wrong with America. --to use solar energy in more than 2 1/2 million houses. On July 15, 1979, amid stagnant economic growth, high inflation, and an energy crisis, Jimmy Carter delivered a televised address to the American people. We will have to have a crash program to build more nuclear plants, strip mine and bum more coal, and drill more offshore wells than if we begin to conserve right now. Two-thirds of our people do not even vote. Our biggest problem, however, is that we simply use too much and waste too much energy. The energy crisis is real. The second principle is that healthy economic growth must continue. Cunanan had no criminal record before the spring of 1997, when he began a killing read more, During a live television and radio broadcast, President Richard Nixon stuns the nation by announcing that he will visit communist China the following year. The most important thing about these proposals is that the alternative may be a national catastrophe. It will demand that we make sacrifices and changes in every life. The oil and natural gas that we rely on for 75 percent of our energy are simply running out. When President Jimmy Carter addressed the nation on April 18, 1977, the U.S. was in a crisis. His remarks were broadcast live on radio and television. Point six: I'm proposing a bold conservation program to involve every State, county, and city and every average American in our energy battle. We've always had a faith that the days of our children would be better than our own. The energy crisis has not yet overwhelmed us, but it will if we do not act quickly. We need to shift to plentiful coal, while taking care to protect the environment, and to apply stricter safety standards to nuclear energy. But a common national sacrifice to meet this serious problem should be shared by everyone-some proof that the plan is fair. They want even higher prices than those we've proposed for "new" gas and oil, and they want the higher prices sooner. Carter also addresses his ideas to improve the economy and reduce the size of government. You may be right, but suspicions about the oil companies cannot change the fact that we are running out of petroleum. Our cars would continue to be too large and inefficient. A President is elected for just 4 years, a Senator for 6, and our Representatives in Congress for only 2 years. National Energy Plan: Address to the Nation. We waste more energy than we import. Each American uses the energy equivalent of 60 barrels of oil per person each year. The question is, who should benefit from those rising prices for oil already discovered? With God's help and for the sake of our Nation, it is time for us to join hands in America. We have no choice about that. It is worldwide. Demand will overtake production. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency . The threat is nearly invisible in ordinary ways. 4. Carter, a liberal president, was heading into a presidential campaign just as a tide of conservatism was rising, led by presidential hopeful Ronald Reagan, who went on to win the 1980 campaign. to cut in half the portion of U.S. oil which is importedfrom a potential level of 16 million barrels to 6 million barrels a day; April 18, 1977: Address to the Nation on Energy. Working together with our common faith we cannot fail. This intolerable dependence on foreign oil threatens our economic independence and the very security of our Nation. This is a special night for me. I believe that this can be a positive challenge. Yesterday, after careful consideration, I announced the postponement of a major overseas trip until after Christmas because of the paramount importance of developing an effective energy plan this year. Remember, you can't sell anything on Wall Street unless someone digs it up somewhere else first. Launched in November 1964, Mariner 4 carried a television camera and six other science instruments to study Mars and interplanetary read more, Zebulon Pike, the U.S. Army officer who in 1805 led an exploring party in search of the source of the Mississippi River, sets off with a new expedition to explore the American Southwest. Carter became a one-term president after Reagan defeated him in a blowout victory in 1980, but Carter's political defeat intensified his lifelong quest to know whether he had done his best and . You can help me to develop a national agenda for the 1980's. Nearly everyone who is alive today grew up during this period, and we have never known anything different. These are the goals that we set for 1985: --to reduce the annual growth rate in our energy demand to less than 2 percent; --to reduce gasoline consumption by 10 percent below its. Confidence in the future has supported everything else--public institutions and private enterprise, our own families, and the very Constitution of the United States. Ours is the most wasteful nation on Earth. There, in the next few weeks, the strength and courage of our political system will be proven. In it, Carter singled out a pervasive "crisis of confidence" preventing the American people from moving the country forward. Tonight I want to have an unpleasant talk with you about a problem that is unprecedented in our history. Whether this plan truly makes a difference will not be decided now here in Washington but in every town and every factory, in every home and on every highway and every farm. In 1979, America could still feel the effects of OPECs (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) 1973 cuts in oil production. . ", "Some of your Cabinet members don't seem loyal. Ten years ago, when foreign oil was cheap, we imported just 2 1/2 million barrels of oil a day, about 20 percent of what we used. We've always been proud of our ingenuity, our skill at answering questions. Every $5 billion increase in oil imports costs us 200,000 American jobs. But sometime in the 1980's, it can't go up any more. These are the purposes of the new energy legislation. The 1973 gas lines are gone, and with this springtime weather, our homes are warm again. It's worse because more waste has occurred and more time has passed by without our planning for the future. And then I left Camp David to listen to other Americans, men and women like you. They want lower taxes on their profits. We remember when the phrase "sound as a dollar" was an expression of absolute dependability, until 10 years of inflation began to shrink our dollar and our savings. Point two: To ensure that we meet these targets, I will use my Presidential authority to set import quotas. No one will gain an unfair advantage through this plan. But I'm confident that we can find the wisdom and the courage to make the right decisionseven when they are unpleasantso that we might, together, preserve the greatness of our Nation. Good evening. Jimmy Carter, Address to the Nation on Energy, Transcript, Miller Center at University of Virginia, April 18, . All of us in Government need your help. Amid looming concern regarding the scarcity of oil resources President Carter delivers a message in stark terms, urging Americans to band together in order to eliminate the wasting of energy resources. Carter was unable to solve most of the problems plaguing the country during his administration, including an ailing economy and a continuing energy crisis. Each new inventory of world oil reserves has been more disturbing than the last. I've given you some of the principles of the plan. But sometime in the 1980's, it can't go up any more. So, I want to speak to you first tonight about a subject even more serious than energy or inflation. Imports have doubled in the last 5 years. I propose the creation of an energy security corporation to lead this effort to replace 2 1/2 million barrels of imported oil per day by 1990. What you see too often in Washington and elsewhere around the country is a system of government that seems incapable of action. Too few of our utility companies will have switched to coal, which is our most abundant energy source. ", And this one from a labor leader got to the heart of it: "The real issue is freedom. 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. The world now uses about 60 million barrels of oil a day, and demand increases each year about 5 percent. Our emphasis on conservation is a clear difference between this plan and others which merely encouraged crash production efforts. So, the solution of our energy crisis can also help us to conquer the crisis of the spirit in our country. The choices facing the Members of Congress are not easy. We simply must balance our demand for energy with our rapidly shrinking resources. Jimmy Carter November 08, 1977 Source National Archives Amid looming concern regarding the scarcity of oil resources President Carter delivers a message in stark terms, urging Americans to band together in order to eliminate the wasting of energy resources. Our energy plan will also include a number of specific goals to measure our progress toward a stable energy system. Last year we spent $36 billion for imported oilnearly 10 times as much. We've always believed in something called progress. Just since April, our oil imports have cost us $23 billionabout $350 worth of foreign oil for the average American family. I invited to Camp David people from almost every segment of our society--business and labor, teachers and preachers, Governors, mayors, and private citizens. I do not promise a quick way out of our Nation's problems, when the truth is that the only way out is an all-out effort. Our farmers are the greatest agricultural exporters the world has ever known, but it now takes all the food and fiber that we export in 2 years just to pay for 1 year of imported oilabout $45 billion. The erosion of our confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and the political fabric of America. I believe that this country can meet any challenge, but this is an exceptionally difficult one because the threat is not easy to see and the solution is neither simple nor politically popular. In a nation that was proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities, and our faith in God, too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption. We may make mistakes, but we are ready to experiment. This plan is essential to protect our jobs, our environment, our standard of living, and our future. The Arab oil embargo of 1973 sent energy prices soaring, and four years later, the impacts were still rippling through the economy. I want to talk to you right now about a fundamental threat to American democracy. to insulate 90 percent of American homes and all new buildings; I will continue to travel this country, to hear the people of America. It is the idea which founded our Nation and has guided our development as a people. If we do not act, then by 1985 we will be using 33 percent more energy than we use today. Every act of energy conservation like this is more than just common sense--I tell you it is an act of patriotism. These are serious problems, and this has been a serious talk. Although all countries could, of course, be more efficient, we are the worst offender. If we fail to act soon, we will face an economic, social, and political crisis that will threaten our free institutions. First, it's fair both to the American consumers and to the energy producers, and it will not disrupt our national economy. The ninth principle is that we must conserve the fuels that are scarcest and make the most of those that are plentiful. World consumption of oil is still going up. Last week the Senate sent its version of the legislation to the conference committees, where Members of the House and Senate will now resolve differences between the bills that they've passed. Our consumption of oil would keep going up every year. I know, of course, being President, that government actions and legislation can be very important. Presidential Speeches | Jimmy Carter Presidency On July 15, 1979, President Jimmy Carter delivered what became known as his "Crisis of Confidence" or "malaise" speech to the American public on national television. These are the goals that we set for 1985: It gives us more freedom, more confidence, that much more control over our own lives. It has been an extraordinary 10 days, and I want to share with you what I've heard. I believe that the duties of this office permit me to do no less. He proposed a plan to solve the crisis that focused on expanding the government's responsibility, promoting conservation, and expanding the search for oil to previously untapped areas. He outlined the creation of a solar bank that he said would eventually supply 20 percent of the nations energy. We have the most skilled work force, with innovative genius, and I firmly believe that we have the national will to win this war. Just as the search for solutions to our energy shortages has now led us to a new awareness of our Nation's deeper problems, so our willingness to work for those solutions in energy can strengthen us to attack those deeper problems. Washington, D.C., has become an island. Copyright 2023. It's a problem that we will not be able to solve in the next few years, and it's likely to get progressively worse through the rest of this century. In his speech, President Carter called the crisis "the moral equivalent of war" and called on Americans to conserve . ", "Don't talk to us about politics or the mechanics of government, but about an understanding of our common good. 1924) giving one of his fireside chats on energy. The first was about 200 years ago, when we changed away from wood--which had provided about 90 percent of all fuelto coal, which was much more efficient. to increase our coal production by about two-thirds to more than one billion tons a year; Each American uses the energy equivalent of 60 barrels of oil per person each year. Two days from now, I will present to the Congress my energy proposals.. Its Members will be my partners, and they have already given me a great deal of valuable advice. How does Carter link the energy crisis to a crisis of the American spirit? We've always wanted to give our children and our grandchildren a world richer in possibilities than we have had ourselves. Above all, they will be fair. Point one: I am tonight setting a clear goal for the energy policy of the United States. Second, as I've said before, it's designed to meet our important goals for energy conservation, to promote a shift to more plentiful and permanent energy supplies and encourage increased production of energy in the United States. If it were possible to keep it rising during the 1970's and 1980's by 5 percent a year, as it has in the past, we could use up all the proven reserves of oil in the entire world by the end of the next decade. Conservation helps us solve both problems at once. From now on, every new addition to our demand for energy will be met from our own production and our own conservation. We've always been proud, through our history, of being efficient people. 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. During the subsequent campaign, Goldwater said that he thought the United States should do whatever was necessary to win in Vietnam. Unless we act, we will spend more than $550 billion for imported oil by 1985more than $2,500 for every man, woman, and child in America. It's crucial that you understand how serious this challenge is. The former . The world has not prepared for the future. He recounted a meeting he had hosted at the presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland, with leaders in the fields of business, labor, education, politics and religion. Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia, April 18, 1977: Address to the Nation on Energy, Notice of Non-Discrimination and Equal Opportunity, Miller Center: April 18, 1977: Address to the Nation on Energy, March 9, 1977: Remarks at President Carter's Press Conference, May 22, 1977: University of Notre Dame Commencement, September 7, 1977: Statement on the Panama Canal Treaty Signing, November 8, 1977: Address to the Nation on Energy, 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. This means that just to stay even we need the production of a new Texas every year, an Alaskan North Slope every 9 months, or a new Saudi Arabia every 3 years. It hurts every American family. You may be right, but suspicions about the oil companies cannot change the fact that we are running out of petroleum. And I realize more than ever that as President I need your help. Industry will have to do its part to conserve just as consumers will. This is the direct cause of the long lines which have made millions of you spend aggravating hours waiting for gasoline. Unless we act quickly, imports will continue to go up, and all the problems that I've just described will grow even worse. Carter, who after the presidency would teach Sunday School, tried to rally the public to have faith in the future of America. We can continue using scarce oil and natural gas to generate electricity and continue wasting two-thirds of their fuel value in the process. place in this century, with the growing use of oil and natural gas. World oil production can probably keep going up for another 6 or 8 years. After a 2015 cancer diagnosis . We can be sure that all the special interest groups in the country will attack the part of this plan that affects them directly. He also admitted that part of the problem was his failure to provide strong leadership on many issues, particularly energy and oil consumption. The productivity of American workers is actually dropping, and the willingness of Americans to save for the future has fallen below that of all other people in the Western world. Let your voice be heard. We've always been proud of our vision of the future. Now, I know that some of you may doubt that we face real energy shortages. With about the same standard of living, we use twice as much energy per person as do other countries like Germany, Japan, and Sweden. For them to pass an effective and fair plan, they will need your support and your understandingyour support to resist pressures from a few for special favors at the expense of the rest of us and your understanding that there can be no effective plan without some sacrifice from all of us. Jimmy Carter, "Address to the Nation on Energy," April 18, 1977 (excerpts). 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. But over those years the subjects of the speeches, the talks, and the press conferences have become increasingly narrow, focused more and more on what the isolated world of Washington thinks is important. If you will join me so that we can work together with patriotism and courage, we will again prove that our great Nation can lead the world into an age of peace, independence, and freedom. We've also proposed, and the Congress is reviewing, incentives to encourage production of oil and gas here in our own country. Three-quarters of them would carry only one person--the driver--while our public transportation system continues to decline. The Secretary of Defense said recently, "The present deficiency of assured energy sources is the single surest threat to our security and to that of our allies." We must look back into history to understand our energy problem. The eighth principle is that Government policies must be predictable and certain. If you will join me so that we can work together with patriotism and courage, we will again prove that our great Nation can lead the world into an age of peace, independence, and freedom. We will feel mounting pressure to plunder the environment. One of the most enduring aspects of Jimmy Carter's presidency is his green legacy he embraced environmental stewardship and renewable energy with an . As a people we know our past and we are proud of it. to use solar energy in more than 2 1/2 million houses. ", And the last that I'll read: "When we enter the moral equivalent of war, Mr. President, don't issue us BB guns.". Tonight I want to examine in a broad sense the state of our American Union--how we are building a new foundation for a peaceful and a prosperous world. It will lead to some higher costs and to some greater inconvenience for everyone. Industry will have to do its part to conserve just as consumers will. The first principle is that we can have an effective and comprehensive energy policy only if the Government takes responsibility for it and if the people understand the seriousness of the challenge and are willing to make sacrifices. Twice in the last several hundred years, there has been a transition in the way people use energy. Twelve hours from now I will speak again in Kansas City, to expand and to explain further our energy program. We are strong. Both consumers and producers need policies they can count on so they can plan ahead. But the sacrifices can be gradual, realistic, and they are necessary. We can drift along for a few more years. We will use research and development projects, tax incentives and penalties, and regulatory authority to hasten the shift from oil and gas to coal, to wind and solar power, to geothermal, methane, and other energy sources. 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. In the days to come, let us renew that strength in the struggle for an energy secure nation. We can decide to act while there is still time. Obviously, this cannot continue. I'm sure that each of you will find something you don't like about the specifics of our proposal. It is a true challenge of this generation of Americans. There is something especially American in the kinds of changes that we have to make. read more. We must not be selfish or timid if we hope to have a decent world for our children and our grandchildren. But the sacrifices can be gradual, realistic, and they are necessary. It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will. They will say that sacrifice is fine as long as other people do it, but that their sacrifice is unreasonable or unfair or harmful to the country. Many groups have risen to the challenge. Along with that money that we transport overseas, we will continue losing American jobs and become increasingly vulnerable to supply interruptions. They are the ones that we must provide for now. These are facts and we simply must face them: What I have to say to you now about energy is simple and vitally important. When Jimmy Carter stepped onto the national stage, he brought along those closest to him, introducing Americans to a colorful Georgia family that helped shape the 39th president's public life The seventh principle is that prices should generally reflect the true replacement cost of energy. AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Jimmy Carter, the only Georgian to serve as president, was born in Plains on Oct. 1, 1924, to Earl Carter, a farmer and businessman, and Lillian Carter, a. Our Nation's economic and political independence is becoming increasingly vulnerable. Along with that money that we transport overseas, we will continue losing American jobs and become increasingly vulnerable to supply interruptions. To some degree, the sacrifices will be painful--but so is any meaningful sacrifice. An effective conservation program will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs. ", "Some people have wasted energy, but others haven't had anything to waste. This is where another major controversy arises. This energy plan is a good insurance policyfor the future, in which relatively small premiums that we pay today will protect us in the years ahead. ", "You don't see the people enough any more. Just as a similar synthetic rubber corporation helped us win World War II, so will we mobilize American determination and ability to win the energy war.

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