Former US President Jimmy Carter entered hospice care last month at his home in Plains, Georgia. Recently, he talked about his legacy of eradicating guinea worm, creating affordable housing through Habitat His Four His Humanities, successfully fighting metastatic melanoma, and inspiring cancer patients. Much has been written. Carter may also be the politician who changed the nation’s energy future more than any other: under his four years of American leadership, landmark events and legislation were set in stone. It has pioneered a brave new world of ‘alternative energy’ as a way to wean a country off its nasty dependence on fuel. Here are seven highlights from his tenure from start to finish.
wear a sweater
The 1973 oil embargo shocked the world. In retaliation for supporting Israel in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries cut their exports to the United States, driving up prices. On February 2, 1977, Carter addressed the nation on television while wearing a sweater and sitting by a roaring fire in the White House Library. He encouraged Americans to help reduce the country’s dependence on foreign oil by taking steps to reduce energy use, such as turning down the thermostats in their homes.
moral equivalent of war
On April 18, 1977, Carter again addressed the nation and declared that the nation must decisively reduce its dependence on foreign oil through a passionate and united effort “as moral as war.” said.
U.S. Department of Energy
The oil crisis of the 1970s also showed how fragmented the federal government’s handling of energy was. Carter and Congress took steps to create his DOE, which was signed into law on August 4, 1977, to oversee national energy policy and integrate the various agencies involved.
strategic oil reserves
To create a buffer against future embargoes and supply disruptions, the United States established the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in 1975. The government buys and stores oil on the market. Under Carter, underground salt domes in Louisiana and Texas were selected as storage sites in April 1977 and began filling reserves in July 1977. Today, the SPR has a maximum capacity of 714 million barrels. Various presidents have taken advantage of it from time to time to try to bring down high retail gasoline prices by adding supply to the market. These include George HW Bush, who utilized his SPR during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, and George W. Bush, who utilized his SPR after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Price well over $4 per gallon.
National Energy Act 1978
This one law kick-started many initiatives rooted in the idea of saving energy. Before that, energy was seen as cheap and unlimited. The law had provisions to reduce energy demand, promote the use of domestic energy sources, especially renewable sources, through taxes and tax credits, and increase fuel efficiency.
solar panel
In the summer of 1979, Carter installed 32 solar panels on the roof of the White House, reflecting his belief in “clean” renewable energy sources. Panels heated water for domestic use. They remained in place until his 1986, when then President Ronald and his President Reagan removed them.
Energy Security Act of 1980
The package included several bills that boosted everything that was previously widely viewed as a peripheral energy source. These bills have increased support for biomass, solar, geothermal and ocean energy, as well as synthetic fuels. They again emphasized conservation through increased efficiency.
