Carter Tried To Stop Bush's Energy Disasters - 28 Years Ago

Carter Tried To Stop Bush's Energy Disasters - 28 Years Ago
"I am tonight setting a clear goal for the energy policy of the United States," Carter said on July 15, 1979. "Beginning this moment, this nation will never ...
www.commondreams.org/views05/0503-22.htm - 23k - Cached - Similar pages


ublished on Tuesday, May 3, 2005 by CommonDreams.org

Carter Tried To Stop Bush's Energy Disasters - 28 Years Ago
by Thom Hartmann

In his recent news conference, George Bush Jr. suggested that our nation's "problem" with high gasoline prices was caused by the lack of a national energy policy, and tried to blame it all on Bill Clinton. First, Junior said, "This is a problem that's been a long time in coming. We haven't had an energy policy in this country." This was followed by, "That's exactly what I've been saying to the American people -- 10 years ago if we'd had an energy strategy, we would be able to diversify away from foreign dependence. And -- but we haven't done that. And now we find ourselves in the fix we're in." As is so often the case, Bush was lying.

Consider President Jimmy Carter's April 18, 1977 speech. Since it was given nearly three decades ago, when many of the reporters in Bush's White House were children, it's understandable that they don't remember it. But it's inexcusable that Bush and the mainstream media (which, after all, has the ability to do research) would completely ignore it. It was the speech that established the strategic petroleum reserve, birthed the modern solar power industry, led to the insulation of millions of American homes, and established America's first national energy policy. "With the exception of preventing war," said Jimmy Carter, a man of peace, "this is the greatest challenge our country will face during our lifetimes." He added: "It is a problem we will not solve in the next few years, and it is likely to get progressively worse through the rest of this century. "We must not be selfish or timid if we hope to have a decent world for our children and grandchildren.

"We simply must balance our demand for energy with our rapidly shrinking resources. By acting now, we can control our future instead of letting the future control us." Carter bluntly pointed out that: "The most important thing about these proposals is that the alternative may be a national catastrophe. Further delay can affect our strength and our power as a nation." He called the new energy policy he was proposing, "he 'moral equivalent of war' -- except that we will be uniting our efforts to build and not destroy."

When Carter had become president three months earlier, the nation was still recovering from the "oil shock" of the 1973 Arab oil embargo, and scientists were realizing our nation was just then hitting the point of domestic peak oil production predicted more than a decade earlier by scientist M. King Hubbert. (The rest of the world is hitting the Hubbert Peak right now.) As Carter noted in his speech, "The oil and natural gas we rely on for 75 percent of our energy are running out. In spite of increased effort, domestic production has been dropping steadily at about six percent a year. Imports have doubled in the last five years. Our nation's independence of economic and political action is becoming increasingly constrained." Hubbert had predicted that the peak of oil production for the USA would come in the 1970s, and it did, hitting us with a shock. "The world has not prepared for the future," said Jimmy Carter. "During the 1950s, people used twice as much oil as during the 1940s. During the 1960s, we used twice as much as during the 1950s. And in each of those decades, more oil was consumed than in all of mankind's previous history." Hubbert said we must begin to conserve. Carter agreed.

snippity..snip

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and

American Experience | Jimmy Carter | Primary Sources

Our national energy plan is based on ten fundamental principles. ...

Jimmy Carter, "The President's Proposed Energy Policy." 18 April 1977. ...
www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carter/filmmore/ps_energy.html - 29k - Cached - Similar pages

a sample from this great documentary
Primary Sources: The President's Proposed Energy Policy

Jimmy Carter delivered this televised speech on April 18, 1977.

Tonight I want to have an unpleasant talk with you about a problem unprecedented in our history. With the exception of preventing war, this is the greatest challenge our country will face during our lifetimes. The energy crisis has not yet overwhelmed us, but it will if we do not act quickly.

It is a problem we will not solve in the next few years, and it is likely to get progressively worse through the rest of this century. We must not be selfish or timid if we hope to have a decent world for our children and grandchildren. We simply must balance our demand for energy with our rapidly shrinking resources. By acting now, we can control our future instead of letting the future control us.Two days from now, I will present my energy proposals to the Congress. Its members will be my partners and they have already given me a great deal of valuable advice. Many of these proposals will be unpopular. Some will cause you to put up with inconveniences and to make sacrifices.

The most important thing about these proposals is that the alternative may be a national catastrophe. Further delay can affect our strength and our power as a nation.Our decision about energy will test the character of the American people and the ability of the President and the Congress to govern. This difficult effort will be the "moral equivalent of war" -- except that we will be uniting our efforts to build and not destroy.I know that some of you may doubt that we face real energy shortages. The 1973 gasoline lines are gone, and our homes are warm again. But our energy problem is worse tonight than it was in 1973 or a few weeks ago in the dead of winter. It is worse because more waste has occurred, and more time has passed by without our planning for the future. And it will get worse every day until we act.

The oil and natural gas we rely on for 75 percent of our energy are running out. In spite of increased effort, domestic production has been dropping steadily at about six percent a year. Imports have doubled in the last five years. Our nation's independence of economic and political action is becoming increasingly constrained. Unless profound changes are made to lower oil consumption, we now believe that early in the 1980s the world will be demanding more oil that it can produce.

snippety..snip..

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President Carter's Proposed US Energy Policy
With the exception of preventing war, energy is the greatest challenge our country will face during our lifetimes ...
www.mnforsustain.org/energy_speech_president_carter.htm - 23k - Cached - Similar pages

The Carter Energy Plan: Analysis and Alternatives
93 July 30, 1979 THE CARTER ENERGY PLAN ANALYSIS AND ALTERNATIVES INTRODUCTION On July 5, 1979, President Carter was scheduled to address the nation on the ...
www.heritage.org/Research/EnergyandEnvironment/bg93.cfm - 69k - Cached - Similar pages

American Rhetoric: Jimmy Carter -- "A Crisis of Confidence"
Jimmy Carter: "Energy and the National Goals - A Crisis of Confidence" ... Also in this database: Jimmy Carter's Undelivered Energy Speech of July 5 1979 ...
www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jimmycartercrisisofconfidence.htm - 30k - Cached - Similar pages

The problems with Car

Here's an interesting 1983 article from the Heritage Foundation. I wonder how much money they got from Exxon, Mobil, etc?

http://www.heritage.org/Research/EnergyandEnvironment/bg258.cfm

"March 30, 1983 WHY REAGAN SHOULD KEEP HIS WORD AND SHUT DOWN D.O.E INTRODUCTION Every American voter knew what to expect of presidential candidate Ronald Reagan. During the 1980 election campaign, he often used the cry "Abolish the Department of Energy to symbolize his pledge to curb Washington's burgeoning bureaucracy. Time and again he scored DOE programs as signal examples of the sort of government interventionism and excess he felt were at the heart of America's economic ills. For good reason did voters expect that DOE'S abolition would be a top priority during the opening days of the Reagan Administration. Initial indications seemed to confirm this view."

(Yeah, we all thought that was a great idea....:eyes:)

"The creation of a cabinet-level department with energy as its sole concern implies that government can manage energy resources more efficiently than the market can. History has shown this assumption to be fallacious. Recent experience with oil decontrol has demonstrated clearly that the market allocates energy resources far more efficiently than the government ever could and thereby maximizes benefits for energy consumers. DOE thus suffers from serious inherent defects Spiraling Intervention DOE has a distorted view of the energy market. It sees energy issues in isolation, rather than as part of the economic whole. Problems thus tend to be exaggerated and there is a temptation to overreact. But because energy has such a pervasive effect throughout the economy, even small interventions have major consequences As these become apparent, they are used to justify further Ifcorrective intervention, setting off an ever increasing regulatory spiral that never acknowledges that it was intervention and regulation that caused the problems in the first place."

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I think we can see the logical progression to 2000 when Cheney is having our "free market" oil companies writing energy policy in the form of war plans for the ME.....it's good to know and remember what Party has us totally dependent on our energy requirements from foreign sources.

It was a concerted effort. China was not even a factor back then..or India..and look at what we have on our hands now? When you wake a sleeping animal(China), the first thing you have to do is feed it.. It's very awake, and very hungry...for oil..

His philosophies were that of the good of the American people, not the top 1% military-industrial complex goons.

Clinton was merely "ok". Carter was our last great President. I was a child when he was in office, but I remember how he was treated in the media and popular culture. They should be ashamed. Look what has happened starting with deregulation and useless wars in the 80's and on and on and on. :(

The country did a Parshall and did not want to hear it. Apparently they wanted the Hollywood Cowboy to tell them everything was okey-dokey and they could continue to waste resources like there was no tomorrow.. By NOW, we could be driving more efficient cars, and be weaned off about 70% of the oil we use now.. We could probably get all we needed from Canada, Mexico & Venezuela (if we did not keep trying to kill Chavez)..

Carter was a grownup trying to make us well..Reagan gave us arsenic-laced cotton candy, and we still have a belly ache all these years later..