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. It's worse because more waste has occurred and more time has passed by without our planning for the future. Unfortunately, that prediction has turned out to be right. The seventh principle is that prices should generally reflect the true replacement cost of energy. ", "Don't talk to us about politics or the mechanics of government, but about an understanding of our common good. He also pledged a massive commitment of funds and resources to develop alternative fuel sources including coal, plant products and solar power. And now we have a chance again to give the world a positive example. . 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. Let me quote a few of the typical comments that I wrote down. "We can't go on consuming 40 percent more energy than we produce. But I think most of you realize that a policy which does not ask for changes or sacrifices would not be an effective policy at this late date. I have faith that meeting this challenge will make our own lives even richer. The statement marked a dramatic turning point in U.S.-China relations, as well as a major shift in American foreign policy. With God's help and for the sake of our Nation, it is time for us to join hands in America. They want even higher prices than those we've proposed for "new" gas and oil, and they want the higher prices sooner. These changes did not happen overnight. 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. Democrat Jimmy Carter served as president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. But we do have a choice about how we will spend the next few years. Born as a side project apart from Odeos main podcasting platform, the free application allowed users read more, The unmanned spacecraft Mariner 4 passes over Mars at an altitude of 6,000 feet and sends back to Earth the first close-up images of the red planet. This change became the basis of the Industrial Revolution. The Congress has recognized the urgency of this problem and has come to grips . We have the most skilled work force, with innovative genius, and I firmly believe that we have the national will to win this war. 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. ", "Mr. President, we're in trouble. If we fail to act soon, we will face an economic, social, and political crisis that will threaten our free institutions. In fact, it is the most painless and immediate way of rebuilding our Nation's strength. But I think most of you realize that a policy which does not ask for changes or sacrifices would not be an effective policy at this late date. Our solutions must ask equal sacrifices from every region, every class of people, and every interest group. Carter didn't directly recommend rationing, but it's clear he . It is a certain route to failure. It's worse because more waste has occurred and more time has passed by without our planning for the future. 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. This lack of moral and spiritual confidence, he concluded, was at the core of Americas inability to hoist itself out of its economic troubles. We must look back into history to understand our energy problem. I have no doubt that this is the right decision, because the other nations of the worldallies and adversaries alikeawait our energy decisions with a great interest and concern. The Middle East has only 5 percent of the world's energy, but the United States has 24 percent. . Industry will have to do its part to conserve just as consumers will. There is some part of this complex legislation to which every region and every interest group can object. A few weeks ago, in Detroit, an unemployed steelworker told me something that may reflect the feelings of many of you. Our excessive dependence on OPEC has already taken a tremendous toll on our economy and our people. 1924) giving one of his fireside chats on energy. 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). Ours is the most wasteful nation on Earth. Our energy problems have the same cause as our environmental problemswasteful use of 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. 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. We need to shift to plentiful coal, while taking care to protect the environment, and to apply stricter safety standards to nuclear energy. Our national security depends on more than just our Armed Forces; it also rests on the strength of our economy, on our national will, and on the ability of the United States to carry out our foreign policy as a free and independent nation. This is the direct cause of the long lines which have made millions of you spend aggravating hours waiting for gasoline. There, in the next few weeks, the strength and courage of our political system will be proven. America overseas is only as strong as America at home. A year later, Ronald Reagan would frame his optimistic . 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. We've always been proud of our vision of the future. Remember, you can't sell anything on Wall Street unless someone digs it up somewhere else first. We can begin to prepare right now. We have the ability to administer the new energy legislation, and congressional work on the National Energy Plan has now reached the final stage. In his speech, President Carter called the crisis "the moral equivalent of war" and called on Americans to conserve . It costs us business investments. Our Nation's economic and political independence is becoming increasingly vulnerable. 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. As a people we know our past and we are proud of it. Those citizens who insist on driving large, unnecessarily powerful cars must expect to pay more for that luxury. And in each of those decades, more oil was consumed than in all of man's previous history combined. So, the solution of our energy crisis can also help us to conquer the crisis of the spirit in our country. Now, these 10 principles have guided the development of the policy that I will describe to you and the Congress on Wednesday night. 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. The world now uses about 60 million barrels of oil a day, and demand increases each year about 5 percent. All of us in Government need your help. We can drift along for a few more years. The second change took. The president was scheduled to deliver a speech on July 4 but canceled at the last minute. One choice, of course, is to continue doing what we've been doing before. Carter, who after the presidency would teach Sunday School, tried to rally the public to have faith in the future of America. I can't tell you that these measures will be easy, nor will they be popular. 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. to reduce gasoline consumption by 10 percent below its. Our national energy plan is based on 10 fundamental principles. There is something especially American in the kinds of changes that we have to make. Imports have doubled in the last 5 years. The choices facing the Members of Congress are not easy. The ninth principle is that we must conserve the fuels that are scarcest and make the most of those that are plentiful. that it be. They made possible the age of automobile and airplane travel. ", And this from a young Chicano: "Some of us have suffered from recession all our lives. 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. He puts forth several initiatives to push the nation towards greater. 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. If we do not act, then by 1985 we will be using 33 percent more energy than we use today. You often see a balanced and a fair approach that demands sacrifice, a little sacrifice from everyone, abandoned like an orphan without support and without friends. Iran hostage crisis November 08, 1977. ", And this is one of the most vivid statements: "Our neck is stretched over the fence and OPEC has a knife. Supplies will be uncertain. Jimmy Carter, "Address to the Nation on Energy and National Goals: 'The Malaise Speech,'" July 15, 1979. And you are also deeply involved in these decisions. We can continue using scarce oil and natural gas to generate electricity and continue wasting two-thirds of their fuel value in the process. It is worldwide. I will sign the energy bills only if they meet these tests. We can decide to act while there is still time. When President Jimmy Carter addressed the nation on April 18, 1977, the U.S. was in a crisis. Working with Congress, we've now formed a new Department of Energy, headed by Secretary James Schlesinger. 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. 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. But our energy problem is worse tonight than it was in 1973 or a few weeks ago in the dead of winter. ", "We've got to use what we have. ", "There will be other cartels and other shortages. 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. Jimmy Carter, "Address to the Nation on Energy," April 18, 1977. producers deserve fair treatment, but we will not let the oil companies profiteer. 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. Point one: I am tonight setting a clear goal for the energy policy of the United States. It unbalances our Nation's trade with other countries. These were the promises I made 3 years ago, and I intend to keep them. Ten days ago I had planned to speak to you again about a very important subject--energy. They are going up, whether we pass an energy program or not, as fuel becomes more scarce and more expensive to produce. I'll read just a few. "Mr. President," he said, "I don't feel much like talking about energy and foreign policy. Now, I know that some of you may doubt that we face real energy shortages. The cost will keep going up. First of all, we must face the truth, and then we can change our course. We simply must balance our demand for energy with our rapidly shrinking resources. Carter prefaced his talk about energy policy with an explanation of why he believed the American economy remained in crisis. Conservation is the quickest, cheapest, most practical source of energy. Some will cause you to put up with inconveniences and to make sacrifices. In the days to come, let us renew that strength in the struggle for an energy secure nation. View Transcript. 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 emphasis on conservation is a clear difference between this plan and others which merely encouraged crash production efforts. 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. At one point, he talked about the possibility of read more, The critically acclaimed 2002 biopic Walk The Line depicts the life and career of Johnny Cash from his initial rise to stardom in the 1950s to his resurgence following a drug-fueled decline in the 1960s.