Carter ended by asking for input from average citizens to help him devise an energy agenda for the 1980s. 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. On July 15, 1978, the Longest Walka 2,800-mile trek for Native American justice that had started with several hundred marchers in Californiaends in Washington, D.C., accompanied by thousands of supporters. Download media. 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. The German general read more, Senator Barry Goldwater (R-Arizona) is nominated by the Republican Party to run for president. We will feel mounting pressure to plunder the environment. Those citizens who insist on driving large, unnecessarily powerful cars must expect to pay more for that luxury. An effective conservation program will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. By acting now we can control our future instead of letting the future control us. 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. Two-thirds of our people do not even vote. 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. Many groups have risen to the challenge. But if we wait, we will constantly live in fear of embargoes. And third, it protects our Federal budget from any unreasonable burden. ", And I like this one particularly from a black woman who happens to be the mayor of a small Mississippi town: "The big-shots are not the only ones who are important. And I'm asking you for your good and for your Nation's security to take no unnecessary trips, to use carpools or public transportation whenever you can, to park your car one extra day per week, to obey the speed limit, and to set your thermostats to save fuel. We can begin to prepare right now. ", "We've got to use what we have. You don't like it, and neither do I. We believed that our Nation's resources were limitless until 1973, when we had to face a growing dependence on foreign oil. In spite of increased effort, domestic production has been dropping steadily at about 6 percent a year. 1924) giving one of his fireside chats on energy. There should be only one test for this programwhether it will help our country. But you did not choose your elected officials simply to fill an office. 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 need to shift to plentiful coal, while taking care to protect the environment, and to apply stricter safety standards to nuclear energy. to reduce gasoline consumption by 10 percent below its. American wisdom and courage right now can set a path to follow in the future. 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. 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. 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. Our excessive dependence on OPEC has already taken a tremendous toll on our economy and our people. The Congress is facing very difficult decisions, courageously, and we've formed a good partnership. This from a southern Governor: "Mr. President, you are not leading this Nation you're just managing the Government. One problem is that the price of all energy is going up, both because of its increasing scarcity and because the price of oil is not set in a free and competitive market. These are the purposes of the new energy legislation. Our Nation's economic and political independence is becoming increasingly vulnerable. I have faith that meeting this challenge will make our own lives even richer. Exactly 3 years ago, on July 15, 1976, I accepted the nomination of my party to run for President of the United States. 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. Seated behind his ornate desk in the Oval Office and wearing a sober pinstriped suit, he offered a litany of dark predictions: Ten days ago I had planned to speak to you again about a very important subject--energy. 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. 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. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search . To further conserve energy, I'm proposing tonight an extra $10 billion over the next decade to strengthen our public transportation systems. Jimmy Carter: "Solar Photovoltaic Energy Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1978 Statement on Signing H.R. When we import oil we are also importing inflation plus unemployment. Our national energy plan is based on 10 fundamental principles. 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. Obviously, this cannot continue. current level; --to cut in half the portion of U.S. oil which is imported--from a potential level of 16 million barrels to 6 million barrels a day; --to establish a strategic petroleum reserve of one billion barrels, more than a 6-months supply; --to increase our coal production by about two-thirds to more than one billion tons a year; On January 14, 1981, President Jimmy Carter delivered a farewell address to the nation, thanking his staff and the American people for the opportunity to serve, warning about the continuing threat . Our Nation must be fair to the poorest among us, so we will increase aid to needy Americans to cope with rising energy prices. During the 1960's, we used twice as much as during the 1950's. Twice in the last several hundred years, there has been a transition in the way people use energy. National Energy Plan: Address to the Nation. We can delay insulating our homes, and they will continue to lose about 50 percent of their heat in waste. We will not be ready to keep our transportation system running with smaller and more efficient cars and a better network of buses, trains, and public transportation. They were more convenient and cheaper than coal, and the supply seemed to be almost without limit. Vast amounts of American wealth no longer stay in the United States to build our factories and to give us a better life. Supplies will be uncertain. Point two: To ensure that we meet these targets, I will use my Presidential authority to set import quotas. We've learned that piling up material goods cannot fill the emptiness of lives which have no confidence or purpose. The history of our Nation is one of meeting challenges and overcoming them. In order to conserve energy, the Congress is now acting to make our automobiles, our homes, and appliances more efficient and to encourage industry to save both heat and electricity. Six years ago, we paid $3.7 billion for imported oil. March 9, 1977: Remarks at President Carter's Press Conference. During the 1950's, people used twice as much oil as during the 1940's. 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. Our energy plan will also include a number of specific goals to measure our progress toward a stable energy system. We've always been proud, through our history, of being efficient people. We can decide to act while there is still time. Along with that money that we transport overseas, we will continue losing American jobs and become increasingly vulnerable to supply interruptions. During the 1960's, we used twice as much as during the 1950's. There should be only one test for this program--whether it will help our country. We must not be selfish or timid if we hope to have a decent world for our children and our grandchildren. 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. We simply must balance our demand for energy with our rapidly shrinking resources. During the next few weeks, attention will be focused on the Congress, but the proving of our courage and commitment will continue, in different forms and places, in the months and the years, even generations ahead. The . One choice, of course, is to continue doing what we've been doing before. 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. It can rekindle our sense of unity, our confidence in the future, and give our Nation and all of us individually a new sense of purpose. With God's help and for the sake of our Nation, it is time for us to join hands in America. ", This was a good one: "Be bold, Mr. President. The eighth principle is that Government policies must be predictable and certain. 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; 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. These efforts will cost money, a lot of money, and that is why Congress must enact the windfall profits tax without delay. You can help me to develop a national agenda for the 1980's. President Carter speaks to the American people about the importance of an energy policy that focuses on conservation of the nation's natural resources and a new energy department. Point four: I'm asking Congress to mandate, to require as a matter of law, that our Nation's utility companies cut their massive use of oil by 50 percent within the next decade and switch to other fuels, especially coal, our most abundant energy source. Posted by RockyTCB 3/1/2023 6:11:41 AM. That path leads to true freedom for our Nation and ourselves. Jimmy Carter, "Address to the Nation on Energy," April 18, 1977. ", "There will be other cartels and other shortages. It is a clear and present danger to our Nation. ", And this is one of the most vivid statements: "Our neck is stretched over the fence and OPEC has a knife. We have more oil in our shale alone than several Saudi Arabias. We will protect our environment. More of our oil is coming from foreign countries. We waste more energy than we import. 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. The Middle East has only 5 percent of the world's energy, but the United States has 24 percent. Now we have a choice. Within 10 years, we would not be able to import enough oil from any country, at any acceptable price. 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).