Nearly everyone who is alive today grew up during this period, and we have never known anything different. We believed that our Nation's resources were limitless until 1973, when we had to face a growing dependence on foreign oil. 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. First of all, we must face the truth, and then we can change our course. These changes did not happen overnight. This plan is essential to protect our jobs, our environment, our standard of living, and our future. We can continue using scarce oil and natural gas to generate electricity and continue wasting two-thirds of their fuel value in the process. . And above all, I will act. I have seen the strength of America in the inexhaustible resources of our people. Every $5 billion increase in oil imports costs us 200,000 American jobs. to increase our coal production by about two-thirds to more than one billion tons a year;
Our energy problems have the same cause as our environmental problems-wasteful use of resources. 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. 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. If this trend continues, the excessive reliance on foreign oil could make the very security of our Nation increasingly dependent on uncertain energy supplies. 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. These wounds are still very deep. We've always been proud of our ingenuity, our skill at answering questions. 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;
Our cars would continue to be too large and inefficient. This will not be the last time that I, as President, present difficult and controversial choices to you and ask for your help. These are serious problems, and this has been a serious talk. 12874 Into Law," November 4, 1978. Download media. Along with that money that we transport overseas, we will continue losing American jobs and become increasingly vulnerable to supply interruptions. He outlined a plan to tackle the crisis . 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 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. But sometime in the 1980's, it can't go up any more. We can protect ourselves from uncertain supplies by reducing our demand for oil, by making the most of our abundant resources such as coal, and by developing a strategic petroleum reserve. It unbalances our Nation's trade with other countries. Obviously, this cannot continue. Let your voice be heard. We've recommended that the price, for instance, of new natural gas be raised each year to the average price of domestic oil that would produce the same amount of energy. It's a cause of the increased inflation and unemployment that we now face. Tonight, at this crucial time, I want to emphasize why it is so important that we have an energy plan and what we will risk, as a nation, if we are timid or reluctant to face this challenge. Our Nation's economic and political independence is becoming increasingly vulnerable. But we can succeed only if we tap our greatest resources--America's people, America's values, and America's confidence. There is some part of this complex legislation to which every region and every interest group can object. The fourth principle is that we must reduce our vulnerability to potentially devastating embargoes. That price is now almost five times as great as it was in 1973. They were more convenient and cheaper than coal, and the supply seemed to be almost without limit.
Carter's Presidency Flashcards | Quizlet The statement marked a dramatic turning point in U.S.-China relations, as well as a major shift in American foreign policy. to reduce the annual growth rate in our energy demand to less than 2 percent;
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. President Carter was elected to office several years after the 1973 Oil Embargo, which devastated the gas turbine market in the United State. But sometime in the 1980's, it can't go up any more.
Jimmy Carter and the Meaning of Malaise - JSTOR Daily But we do have a choice about how we will spend the next few years. I hope that each of you will take steps to conserve our precious energy and also join with your elected officials at all levels of government to meet this test of our Nation's judgment and will. Industry will have to do its part to conserve just as consumers will. ; Carter went on to serve in the US Navy and was sworn in as president in 1977. Other generations of Americans have faced and mastered great challenges. --to use solar energy in more than 2 1/2 million houses. To further conserve energy, I'm proposing tonight an extra $10 billion over the next decade to strengthen our public transportation systems. Each new inventory of world oil reserves has been more disturbing than the last. So, I want to speak to you first tonight about a subject even more serious than energy or inflation. This button displays the currently selected search type. Imports have doubled in the last 5 years.
But we've discovered that owning things and consuming things does not satisfy our longing for meaning.
25 photos show Jimmy Carter's inspiring life, from humble beginnings to Thank you very much, and good night. The American Presidency Project (http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=7369). Last year we spent $36 billion for imported oilnearly 10 times as much. National Energy Plan: Address to the Nation. One of the most enduring aspects of Jimmy Carter's presidency is his green legacy he embraced environmental stewardship and renewable energy with an . They want even higher prices than those we've proposed for "new" gas and oil, and they want the higher prices sooner. But when this Nation critically needs a refinery or a pipeline, we will build it. It feeds serious inflationary pressures in our own economy. Presidential Speeches | Jimmy Carter Presidency We simply must balance our demand for energy with our rapidly shrinking resources. 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.
Extra to study for big quiz- history Flashcards | Quizlet National Energy Plan: Address to the Nation. | The American Presidency The ninth principle is that we must conserve the fuels that are scarcest and make the most of those that are plentiful. Point six: I'm proposing a bold conservation program to involve every State, county, and city and every average American in our energy battle.
Jimmy Carter's Energy Speech of April 1977 (Is - Master Resource Conservation is the only way that we can buy a barrel of oil for about $2. With the exception of preventing war, this is the greatest challenge that our country will face during our lifetime. I do not promise you that this struggle for freedom will be easy.
God Bless You Jimmy Carter, Pioneer Deregulator | Newsmax.com We can be sure that all the special interest groups in the country will attack the part of this plan that affects them directly. It's worse because more waste has occurred and more time has passed by without our planning for the future. State of the Union Address 1979. In his speech, President Carter called the crisis "the moral equivalent of war" and called on Americans to conserve energy. In a few years, when the North Slope is producing fully, its total output will be just about equal to 2 years' increase in our own Nation's energy demand. Let us commit ourselves together to a rebirth of the American spirit. No one will be asked to bear an unfair burden. Copyright 2023. The oil and natural gas that we rely on for 75 percent of our energy are simply running out. Little by little we can and we must rebuild our confidence. This difficult effort will be the "moral equivalent of war," except that we will be uniting our efforts to build and not to destroy. The second change took. This is a special night for me. 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. to insulate 90 percent of American homes and all new buildings;
Our biggest problem, however, is that we simply use too much and waste too much energy. There should be only one test for this programwhether it will help our country. The world price is set by a foreign cartelthe governments of the so-called OPEC nations. 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. You don't like it, and neither do I. It is a crisis of confidence. We can't continue to use oil and gas for 75 percent of our consumption, as we do now, when they only make up 7 percent of our domestic reserves. Since the great price rise in 1973, the Japanese have cut their oil imports, the Germans, the French, the British, the Italians have all cut their oil imports. From now on, every new addition to our demand for energy will be met from our own production and our own conservation. James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American retired politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. Each American uses the energy equivalent of 60 barrels of oil per person each year. ", This kind of summarized a lot of other statements: "Mr. President, we are confronted with a moral and a spiritual crisis.". In his speech, President Carter called the crisis "the moral equivalent of war" and called on Americans to conserve . It makes it harder for us to balance our Federal budget and to finance needed programs for our people. We can decide to act while there is still time. Often you see paralysis and stagnation and drift. The symptoms of this crisis of the American spirit are all around us. It is a true challenge of this generation of Americans. Working together with our common faith we cannot fail. Jimmy Carter, Address to the Nation on Energy, Transcript, Miller Center at University of Virginia, April 18, . Unless we act quickly, imports will continue to go up, and all the problems that I've just described will grow even worse. Americans saw the federal government as a bloated bureaucracy that had become stagnant and was failing to serve the people. They are the ones who will suffer most if we don't act. Jimmy Carter, Address to the Nation on Energy Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/243395, The American Presidency ProjectJohn Woolley and Gerhard PetersContact, Copyright The American Presidency ProjectTerms of Service | Privacy | Accessibility, Saturday Weekly Addresses (Radio and Webcast) (1639), State of the Union Written Messages (140).
April 18, 1977: Address to the Nation on Energy | Miller Center I've given you some of the principles of the plan. We can begin to prepare right now. The sixth principle, and the cornerstone of our policy, is to reduce demand through conservation. We can delay insulating our homes, and they will continue to lose about 50 percent of their heat in waste. Our solutions must ask equal sacrifices from every region, every class of people, and every interest group. In it, Carter singled out a pervasive "crisis of confidence" preventing the American people from moving the country forward. On July 15, 1979, President Jimmy Carter addresses the nation via live television to discuss the nation's energy crisis and accompanying recession. 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. The third principle is that we must protect the environment.