Jimmy Carter’s environmental legacy set the foundation for today’s climate action
By Jeff Brady
NPR Excerpt: Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, died at his home in Plains, Ga., on Sunday. He was 100.
Carter’s interest in promoting renewable energy was on display at his January 20, 1977 presidential inauguration. Solar panels were installed to warm the reviewing stand near the White House, where Carter watched the inaugural parade.
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The inauguration set the stage for Carter’s four years as President. His environmental legacy has shaped how the country is responding to climate change today.
“At the time that Jimmy Carter was president, his biggest concern was energy security,” says Amy Myers Jaffe, director of the Energy, Climate Justice and Sustainability Lab at New York University.
In 1977, the U.S. was importing 8.81 million barrels of petroleum a day, mostly from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or the OPEC cartel. That made the U.S. vulnerable during the 1973 Arab oil embargo, which led to long lines at gas stations.
In several ways Jaffe says Carter was ahead of his time by being an early advocate for conserving energy and boosting renewable electricity, such as solar power. But Carter also promoted domestic coal mining. The subsequent growth of that industry contributed to the warming climate the world is experiencing now.
Carter boosted energy efficiency and solar
Shortly after Carter took office in 1977, he delivered what has become known as the “sweater speech.” Sitting by a lit fireplace, he wore a cardigan sweater and addressed the country on television.
“All of us must learn to waste less energy. Simply by keeping our thermostats, for instance, at 65 degrees in the daytime and 55 degrees at night we could save half the current shortage of natural gas,” Carter said.
Energy efficiency seems like a given today, but it wasn’t really on Americans’ minds after the 1950s and ’60s, Jaffe says. Back then, it seemed like the oil would always flow. Jaffe says some even made fun of Carter’s efficiency plea — an indication of how unusual the request was at the time.
Still, energy experts then were thinking about the possibility that oil and gas could run out. That prompted Carter to encourage alternative sources of energy. “He even put solar panels, famously, on the White House,” Jaffe says.
At a press event unveiling the solar panels that would be used to heat water, Carter made clear that energy security was at the top of his mind.
“Today, in directly harnessing the power of the sun, we’re taking the energy that God gave us, the most renewable energy that we will ever see, and using it to replace our dwindling supplies of fossil fuels,” Carter said.
By the end of the 20th century, Carter wanted the U.S. to get “20% of all the energy we use from the sun.” The country still hasn’t reached that goal, though more than 80% of new generating capacity this year is expected to come from solar and battery storage.
As if to highlight the risk of experimenting with new energy sources, Carter told reporters at the solar panel unveiling, “A generation from now, this solar heater can either be a curiosity, a museum piece, an example of a road not taken, or it can be just a small part of one of the greatest and most exciting adventures ever undertaken by the American people.”
The panels were removed less than a decade later during the Reagan administration.
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A climate change warning and promoting coal
The summer after Carter took office, he received a memo with the subject “Release of Fossil CO2 and the Possibility of a Catastrophic Climate Change.” It warned that increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has a “greenhouse effect” that “will induce a global climatic warming.”
The memo was from Frank Press, Carter’s chief advisor on scientific matters and the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Press wrote, “The present state of knowledge does not justify emergency action to limit the consumption of fossil fuels in the near term.” But he did write that considering the “potential CO2 hazard” should become part of the country’s long-term energy strategy.
The top of the memo is marked “THE PRESIDENT HAS SEEN.” Climate change, though, was not an issue Carter highlighted during his time in office. He actually boosted domestic coal production. Coal is the most carbon-intense fuel for generating electricity.
Carter’s 1980 campaign speech to miners in West Frankfort, Illinois includes a level of boosterism rarely seen outside of the coal industry these days.
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In his final years, Carter’s environmental legacy came full circle. In 2017 he leased 10 acres of his land in Plains, Georgia for a solar power project that produces enough electricity to supply about half the demand of his hometown.
At the dedication event he told the crowd, “This site will be as symbolically important as the 32 panels we put on the White House,” according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “People can come here and see what can be done.”
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“Carter had these very farsighted views of how he wanted to solve the energy crisis, and it involved conservation, but also involved turning away from fossil fuels and turning toward renewable energy, things like solar power and other renewables,” said Jim Pattiz, 29. Carter put solar panels on the White House, and he called for “shared sacrifice” to confront energy shortages. But he couldn’t overcome voters’ frustrations with fuel prices and availability. The solar panels were removed during Reagan’s presidency. But Will Pattiz, 30, said time vindicated Carter. If “President Carter had gotten an extra term in office,” he said, “we likely wouldn’t be having a climate crisis right now.”
Morano: But here’s the thing. They are not going to learn. Academia has been calling these energy restrictions for decades. This energy policy, what have they done? “the Washington Post” a few months ago actually said that we – if Jimmy Carter had won a second term there would be no climate crisis. They lamented that Ronald Reagan won. To the academia and media elites, Jimmy Carter’s first term was a model, and that’s what they want to do and that’s what we’re facing here.
John Kerry wants to have an urgent climate summit. He announced on Monday. In the midst of all of this, he believes the climate is the greatest threat. Their energy policy is the greatest national security threat we face.
Tucker Carlson: Perfect. Marc, great to see you. Thank you.
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