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. I know, of course, being President, that government actions and legislation can be very important. Following is a transcript of President Carter's address to the nation on energy problems last night in Washington, as recorded by The New York Times through the facilities of ABC News: It's. The most important thing about these proposals is that the alternative may be a national catastrophe. We believed that our Nation's resources were limitless until 1973, when we had to face a growing dependence on foreign oil. Jimmy Carter 39th President of the United States: 1977 1981 Address to the Nation on Energy and National Goals: "The Malaise Speech" July 15, 1979 Good evening. We've always wanted to give our children and our grandchildren a world richer in possibilities than we have had ourselves. The fifth principle is that we must be fair. America overseas is only as strong as America at home. Jimmy Carter was born on October 1, 1924, in the farming community of Plains, Georgia. We have more oil in our shale alone than several Saudi Arabias. But our energy plan also reflects the optimism that I feel about our ability to deal with these problems. We must not be selfish or timid if we hope to have a decent world for our children and our grandchildren. This difficult effort will be the 'moral equivalent of war' except that we will be uniting our efforts to build and not destroy. And in each of those decades, more oil was consumed than in all of man's previous history combined. Twice in the last several hundred years, there has been a transition in the way people use energy. President Jimmy Carter delivered this speech on July 15, 1979, exactly three years after accepting the nomination of the Democratic Party to run for president. ." President Jimmy Carter Address to the Nation, April 18, 1977 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. The symptoms of this crisis of the American spirit are all around us. Carter's Presidency Flashcards | Quizlet Each new inventory of world oil reserves has been more disturbing than the last. We are the heirs of generations who survived threats much more powerful and awesome than those that challenge us now. The world has not prepared for the future. Moreover, I will soon submit legislation to Congress calling for the creation of this Nation's first solar bank, which will help us achieve the crucial goal of 20 percent of our energy coming from solar power by the year 2000. One of the visitors to Camp David last week put it this way: "We've got to stop crying and start sweating, stop talking and start walking, stop cursing and start praying. On June 30, 1979, a weary Jimmy Carter was looking forward to a few days' vacation in Hawaii, as Air Force One sped him away from a grueling economic summit in Tokyo. We've always wanted to give our children and our grandchildren a world richer in possibilities than we have had ourselves. 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. We respected the Presidency as a place of honor until the shock of Watergate. You may be right, but suspicions about the oil companies cannot change the fact that we are running out of petroleum. Further delay can affect our strength and our power as a nation. It costs about $13 to waste it. Our children who will be born this year will come of age in the 21st century. For the fifth time I would have described the urgency of the problem and laid out a series of legislative recommendations to the Congress. 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. The Secretary of Defense said recently, "The present deficiency of assured energy sources is the single surest threat to our security and to that of our allies." The most important thing about these proposals is that the alternative may be a national catastrophe. We simply must balance our demand for energy with our rapidly shrinking resources. Tonight I want to have an unpleasant talk with you about a problem that is unprecedented in our history. The energy. current level;
On July 15, 1979, amid stagnant economic growth, high inflation, and an energy crisis, Jimmy Carter delivered a televised address to the American people. Working together with our common faith we cannot fail. Confidence has defined our course and has served as a link between generations. It is the idea which founded our Nation and has guided our development as a people. I'm sure that each of you will find something you don't like about the specifics of our proposal. With the exception of preventing war, this is the greatest challenge that our country will face during our lifetime. On July 15, 1979, amid stagnant economic growth, high inflation, and an energy crisis, Jimmy Carter delivered a televised address to the American people. The cost will keep going up. Nearly everyone who is alive today grew up during this period, and we have never known anything different. 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 progress has been part of the living history of America, even the world. What is being measured is the strength and will of our Nationwhether we can acknowledge a threat and meet a serious challenge together. ", "Mr. President, we're in trouble. In his speech, President Carter called the crisis "the moral equivalent of war" and called on Americans to conserve energy. Three-quarters of them would carry only one person--the driver--while our public transportation system continues to decline. The political pressures are great because the stakes are so high, billions and billions of dollars. 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. But we still have another choice. I can't be too concerned about other things when I have a 10-year-old daughter to raise and I don't have a job and I'm 56 years old." Jimmy Carter, "Crisis of Confidence" (1979) - American Yawp The selection of this time span made perfect sense from a Hollywood read more, On July 15, 1988, Die Hard, an action film starring Bruce Willis as wisecracking New York City cop John McClane, opens in theaters across the United States. No one will gain an unfair advantage through this plan. The energy. Democrat Jimmy Carter served as president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. The eighth principle is that Government policies must be predictable and certain. This is where another major controversy arises. 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. This problem has come upon us suddenly. 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. You can help me to develop a national agenda for the 1980's. Our emphasis on conservation is a clear difference between this plan and others which merely encouraged crash production efforts. But we still have another choice. Only by saving energy can we maintain our standard of living and keep our people at work. This will not be the last time that I, as President, present difficult and controversial choices to you and ask for your help. An effective conservation program will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs. Carter also addresses his ideas to improve the economy and reduce the size of government. to use solar energy in more than 2 1/2 million houses. And now we have a chance again to give the world a positive example. Along with that money that we transport overseas, we will continue losing American jobs and become increasingly vulnerable to supply interruptions. He also pledged a massive commitment of funds and resources to develop alternative fuel sources including coal, plant products and solar power. State of the Union Address 1979. Address to the Nation on Energy | The American Presidency Project The former . All of us have heard about the large oil fields on Alaska's North Slope. Two-thirds of our people do not even vote. One choice, of course, is to continue doing what we've been doing before. State of the Union Address 1979 - Jimmy Carter 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. In 1979, America could still feel the effects of OPECs (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) 1973 cuts in oil production. But our energy problem is worse tonight than it was in 1973 or a few weeks ago in the dead of winter. This plan is essential to protect our jobs, our environment, our standard of living, and our future. Jimmy Carter. 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. Although all countries could, of course, be more efficient, we are the worst offender. Copyright 2023. 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. Unless profound changes are made to lower oil consumption, we now believe that early in the 1980's the world will be demanding more oil than it can produce. They are the ones who will suffer most if we don't act. place in this century, with the growing use of oil and natural gas. We must look back into history to understand our energy problem. Many groups have risen to the challenge. We always believed that we were part of a great movement of humanity itself called democracy, involved in the search for freedom, and that belief has always strengthened us in our purpose. We have no choice about that. We must not be selfish or timid if we hope to have a decent world for our children and our grandchildren. Just as the search for solutions to our energy shortages has now led us to a new awareness of our Nation's deeper problems, so our willingness to work for those solutions in energy can strengthen us to attack those deeper problems. These quotas will ensure a reduction in imports even below the ambitious levels we set at the recent Tokyo summit. 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. National Energy Plan: Address to the Nation. | The American Presidency I have seen the strength of America in the inexhaustible resources of our people. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. We often think of conservation only in terms of sacrifice. We can manage the short-term shortages more effectively and we will, but there are no short-term solutions to our long-range problems. Then I became upstate New York chairman of Democrats for Reagan in 1984. I believe that this can be a positive challenge. We can see this crisis in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives and in the loss of a unity of purpose for our Nation. There should be only one test for this programwhether it will help our country. ", "There will be other cartels and other shortages. During the 1960's, we used twice as much as during the 1950's. Confidence in the future has supported everything else--public institutions and private enterprise, our own families, and the very Constitution of the United States. The erosion of our confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and the political fabric of America. This is a special night for me. The world now uses about 60 million barrels of oil a day, and demand increases each year about 5 percent. That's why I've worked hard to put my campaign promises into law--and I have to admit, with just mixed success. Jimmy Carter: Family affair to the White House and beyond | Nation They were more convenient and cheaper than coal, and the supply seemed to be almost without limit. Address to the Nation on Energy and National Goals: "The Malaise Speech That price is now almost five times as great as it was in 1973. 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. Our imports have more than tripled in the last 10 years. Extra to study for big quiz- history Flashcards | Quizlet Further delay can affect our strength and our power as a nation. There is some part of this complex legislation to which every region and every interest group can object. Conservation is the quickest, cheapest, most practical source of energy. Dubbed the Second Battle of the Marne, the conflict ended several days later in a major victory for the Allies. How Jimmy Carter Integrated His Evangelical Faith Into His Political Only by saving energy can we maintain our standard of living and keep our people at work. 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. Often you see paralysis and stagnation and drift. President Jimmy Carter - Address to the Nation on Energy
