Now the energy proposal that I made to Congress last April has three basic elements to ensure that it is well balanced. 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. I believe that the duties of this office permit me to do no less. No one will be asked to bear an unfair burden. Copyright 2023. Some will cause you to put up with inconveniences and to make sacrifices. The productivity of American workers is actually dropping, and the willingness of Americans to save for the future has fallen below that of all other people in the Western world. It makes it harder for us to balance our Federal budget and to finance needed programs for our people. The world now uses about 60 million barrels of oil a day, and demand increases each year about 5 percent. Good evening. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency . All the traditions of our past, all the lessons of our heritage, all the promises of our future point to another path, the path of common purpose and the restoration of American values. 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 Arab oil embargo of 1973 sent energy prices soaring, and four years later, the impacts were still rippling through the economy. Jimmy Carter Has 'Still Got Some Time In Him,' So There's Still Time to Speak Ill of Him. Thank you very much, and good night. Our Nation's economic and political independence is becoming increasingly vulnerable. The energy crisis has not yet overwhelmed us, but it will if we do not act quickly. I feel like ordinary people are excluded from political power. The oil and natural gas that we rely on for 75 percent of our energy are simply running out. ", "If you lead, Mr. President, we will follow. The sixth principle, and the cornerstone of our policy, is to reduce demand through conservation. Jimmy Carter, Address to the Nation on Energy, Transcript, Miller Center at University of Virginia, April 18, . Other generations of Americans have faced and mastered great challenges. The political pressures are great because the stakes are so high, billions and billions of dollars. One choice, of course, is to continue doing what we've been doing before. There is some part of this complex legislation to which every region and every interest group can object. 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; Gradually, you've heard more and more about what the Government thinks or what the Government should be doing and less and less about our Nation's hopes, our dreams, and our vision of the future. Play Video. Carter also addresses his ideas to improve the economy and reduce the size of government. Demand will overtake production. I've given you some of the principles of the plan. It will demand that we make sacrifices and changes in every life. Our fathers and mothers were strong men and women who shaped a new society during the Great Depression, who fought world wars, and who carved out a new charter of peace for the world. I have faith that meeting this challenge will make our own lives even richer. An effective conservation program will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs. And you are also deeply involved in these decisions. Energy and the National Goals - A Crisis of Confidence - Jimmy Carter : Discuss: Jimmy Carter - Address to the Nation on Energy (April 18, 1977) Discuss: Jimmy Carter - Address to the Nation on Energy (November 8, 1977) Discuss: Jimmy Carter - President Carter's Remarks on Joint Statement at Camp David Summit (September 17, 1978) Discuss 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. It will demand that we make sacrifices and changes in every life. We've always believed in something called progress. 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. During the 1960's, we used twice as much as during the 1950's. A huge box-office hit, the film established Willis as a movie star and spawned three sequels. The world has not prepared for the future. Carter was unable to solve most of the problems plaguing the country during his administration, including an ailing economy and a continuing energy crisis. This plan is essential to protect our jobs, our environment, our standard of living, and our future. But the sacrifices can be gradual, realistic, and they are necessary. An effective conservation program will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs. Conservation is the quickest, cheapest, most practical source of energy. You may be right, but suspicions about the oil companies cannot change the fact that we are running out of petroleum. The fifth principle is that we must be fair. We can manage the short-term shortages more effectively and we will, but there are no short-term solutions to our long-range problems. Confidence in the future has supported everything else--public institutions and private enterprise, our own families, and the very Constitution of the United States. 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. We remember when the phrase "sound as a dollar" was an expression of absolute dependability, until 10 years of inflation began to shrink our dollar and our savings. If we wait and do not act, then our factories will not be able to keep our people on the job with reduced supplies of fuel. With about the same standard of living, we use twice as much energy per person as do other countries like Germany, Japan, and Sweden. The strength we need will not come from the White House, but from every house in America.". Point five: To make absolutely certain that nothing stands in the way of achieving these goals, I will urge Congress to create an energy mobilization board which, like the War Production Board in World War II, will have the responsibility and authority to cut through the red tape, the delays, and the endless roadblocks to completing key energy projects. We have the ability to administer the new energy legislation, and congressional work on the National Energy Plan has now reached the final stage. Further delay can affect our strength and our power as a nation. With this new policy, the gross income of gas producers would average about $2 billion each year more than at the present price level. 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. But over those years the subjects of the speeches, the talks, and the press conferences have become increasingly narrow, focused more and more on what the isolated world of Washington thinks is important. The most important thing about these proposals is that the alternative may be a national catastrophe. Obviously, this cannot continue. Tonight I want to have an unpleasant talk with you about a problem that is unprecedented in our history. It's fitting that I'm speaking to you on an election day, a day which reminds us that you, the people, are the rulers of this Nation, that your Government will be as courageous and effective and fair as you demand The confidence that we have always had as a people is not simply some romantic dream or a proverb in a dusty book that we read just on the Fourth of July. The energy crisis is real. What is being measured is the strength and will of our Nationwhether we can acknowledge a threat and meet a serious challenge together. Point one: I am tonight setting a clear goal for the energy policy of the United States. We will protect our environment. The statement marked a dramatic turning point in U.S.-China relations, as well as a major shift in American foreign policy. Nearly everyone who is alive today grew up during this period, and we have never known anything different. We've always been proud of our vision of the future. READ MORE: Jimmy Carter: His Life and Legacy, Jimmy Carter speaks about a national crisis in confidence, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/jimmy-carter-speaks-about-a-national-crisis-in-confidence. This intolerable dependence on foreign oil threatens our economic independence and the very security of our Nation. This difficult effort will be the "moral equivalent of war," except that we will be uniting our efforts to build and not to destroy. Carter prefaced his talk about. View Transcript. We respected the Presidency as a place of honor until the shock of Watergate. Down that road lies a mistaken idea of freedom, the right to grasp for ourselves some advantage over others. They want immediate and permanent deregulation of gas prices, which would cost consumers $70 billion or more between now and 1985. On July 15, 1979, President Jimmy Carter addresses the nation via live television to discuss the nation's energy crisis and accompanying recession. World consumption of oil is still going up. Our plan will call for strict conservation measures if we fall behind. --to use solar energy in more than 2 1/2 million houses. Three-quarters of them would carry only one person--the driver--while our public transportation system continues to decline. There should be only one test for this programwhether it will help our country. Many groups have risen to the challenge. Let your voice be heard. Other generations of Americans have faced and mastered great challenges. 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. On July 15, 1979, amid stagnant economic growth, high inflation, and an energy crisis, Jimmy Carter delivered a televised address to the American people. Point two: To ensure that we meet these targets, I will use my Presidential authority to set import quotas. Further delay can affect our strength and our power as a nation. 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. Let us commit ourselves together to a rebirth of the American spirit. The choices facing the Members of Congress are not easy. I do not promise you that this struggle for freedom will be easy. 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. Jimmy Carter, Address to the Nation on Energy and National Goals: "The Malaise Speech" Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/249458, 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). Above all, they will be fair. These proposals would provide adequate incentives for exploration and production of domestic oil and gas, but some of the oil companies want much moretens of billions of dollars more. More of our oil is coming from foreign countries. Good evening. We waste more energy than we import. Americans saw the federal government as a bloated bureaucracy that had become stagnant and was failing to serve the people. In closing, let me say this: I will do my best, but I will not do it alone. 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. In April 1977, under the dark cloud of the energy crisis, President Jimmy Carter told the nation that the difficult effort needed to move beyond the shortages and high prices of that era "will be the moral equivalent of war.". Our imports have more than tripled in the last 10 years. In the late 1970s, the United States faced a variety of challenges, including high inflation, rising interest and unemployment rates, and an energy crisis created by . In fact, it is the most painless and immediate way of rebuilding our Nation's strength. Unless we act, we will spend more than $550 billion for imported oil by 1985--more than $2,500 for every man, woman, and child in America. Our national energy plan is based on 10 fundamental principles. We have more coal than any nation on Earth. Posted by RockyTCB 3/1/2023 6:11:41 AM. Our emphasis on conservation is a clear difference between this plan and others which merely encouraged crash production efforts. We can decide to act while there is still time. Our Nation's economic and political independence is becoming increasingly vulnerable. Carter, a liberal president, was heading into a presidential campaign just as a tide of conservatism was rising, led by presidential hopeful Ronald Reagan, who went on to win the 1980 campaign. ; Carter went on to serve in the US Navy and was sworn in as president in 1977. The third principle is that we must protect the environment. This from a young woman in Pennsylvania: "I feel so far from government. Jimmy Carter, "Address to the Nation on Energy," April 18, 1977. Thank you very much, and good night. We can continue using scarce oil and natural gas to generate electricity and continue wasting two-thirds of their fuel value in the process. But a common national sacrifice to meet this serious problem should be shared by everyone-some proof that the plan is fair. that it be. Inflation will soar; production will go down; people will lose their jobs. The president was scheduled to deliver a speech on July 4 but canceled at the last minute. He outlined a plan to tackle the crisis . This excessive importing of foreign oil is a tremendous and rapidly increasing drain on our national economy. The second principle is that healthy economic growth must continue. You don't like it, and neither do I. But our energy plan also reflects the optimism that I feel about our ability to deal with these problems. 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. 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. 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. We need to shift to plentiful coal, while taking care to protect the environment, and to apply stricter safety standards to nuclear energy. Now, these 10 principles have guided the development of the policy that I will describe to you and the Congress on Wednesday night. This is where another major controversy arises. I can't tell you that these measures will be easy, nor will they be popular. Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search . All of us in Government need your help. 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. These efforts will cost money, a lot of money, and that is why Congress must enact the windfall profits tax without delay. to insulate 90 percent of American homes and all new buildings; We will monitor our progress toward these goals year by year. No one will gain an unfair advantage through this plan. We have more oil in our shale alone than several Saudi Arabias. The third principle is that we must protect the environment. This from a southern Governor: "Mr. President, you are not leading this Nation you're just managing the Government. During the 1950's, people used twice as much oil as during the 1940's. 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. Often you see paralysis and stagnation and drift. place in this century, with the growing use of oil and natural gas. World oil production can probably keep going up for another 6 or 8 years. This year, when foreign oil is very expensive, we are importing nearly 9 million barrels a dayalmost one-half of all the oil we use. We will monitor the accuracy of data from the oil and natural gas companies for the first time, so that we will always know their true production, supplies, reserves, and profits. Carter address's the crisis of confidence in America, but tells Americans to first begin addressing problems by addressing the energy crisis within their home. We are only cheating ourselves if we make energy artificially cheap and use more than we can really afford. 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. But we've discovered that owning things and consuming things does not satisfy our longing for meaning. 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. I've given you some of the principles of the plan. These quotas will ensure a reduction in imports even below the ambitious levels we set at the recent Tokyo summit. This change became the basis of the Industrial Revolution. What I do promise you is that I will lead our fight, and I will enforce fairness in our struggle, and I will ensure honesty. The corporation will issue up to $5 billion in energy bonds, and I especially want them to be in small denominations so that average Americans can invest directly in America's energy security. 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. ", And this from a young Chicano: "Some of us have suffered from recession all our lives. One choice, of course, is to continue doing what we've been doing before. We must look back into history to understand our energy problem. Every $5 billion increase in oil imports costs us 200,000 American jobs. Carter then launched into his energy policy plans, which included the implementation of mandatory conservation efforts for individuals and businesses and deep cuts in the nations dependence on foreign oil through import quotas. Demand will overtake production. If we do not act, then by 1985 we will be using 33 percent more energy than we use today. We may make mistakes, but we are ready to experiment. --to insulate 90 percent of American homes and all new buildings; This button displays the currently selected search type. 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. This is not a contest of strength between the President and the Congress, nor between the House and the Senate. Let me try to describe the size and the effect of the problem. Now, I know that some of you may doubt that we face real energy shortages. Industry will have to do its part to conserve just as consumers will. American wisdom and courage right now can set a path to follow in the future. Just as a similar synthetic rubber corporation helped us win World War II, so will we mobilize American determination and ability to win the energy war. Former President Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.), was the 39 th president of the United States, serving from 1977-1981. But just as we are losing our confidence in the future, we are also beginning to close the door on our past. The Arab oil embargo of 1973 sent energy prices soaring, and four years later, the impacts were still rippling through the economy. I will continue to travel this country, to hear the people of America. He recounted a meeting he had hosted at the presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland, with leaders in the fields of business, labor, education, politics and religion. Our decision about energy will test the character of the American people and the ability of the President and the Congress to govern. To jumpstart this program, Carter asked Congress to form an energy mobilization board modeled after the War Production Board of World War II, and asked the legislature to enact a windfall profits tax immediately to fight inflation and unemployment. You can help me to develop a national agenda for the 1980's. . Our consumption of oil would keep going up every year. producers deserve fair treatment, but we will not let the oil companies profiteer. And we are the generation that will win the war on the energy problem and in that process rebuild the unity and confidence of America. I will listen and I will act. Seated behind his ornate desk in the Oval Office and wearing a sober pinstriped suit, he offered a litany of dark predictions: The Middle East has only 5 percent of the world's energy, but the United States has 24 percent. Imports have doubled in the last 5 years. It is a crisis of confidence. Jimmy Carter. Jimmy Carter, "Address to the Nation on Energy," April 18, 1977 (excerpts). April 18, 1977: Address to the Nation on Energy. Inflation will soar; production will go down; people will lose their jobs. 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. We've always been proud of our vision of the future. We can continue using scarce oil and natural gas to generate electricity and continue wasting two-thirds of their fuel value in the process. "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. It's worse because more waste has occurred and more time has passed by without our planning for the future. The message was usually focused on energy conservation. The first was about 200 years ago, when we changed away from wood--which had provided about 90 percent of all fuel--to coal, which was much more efficient. ", Many people talked about themselves and about the condition of our Nation. ", 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. FILE - Lillian Carter is flanked by her sons Jimmy, right, and Billy as she met them down at Billy's gas station, where the Carters and neighbors cleaned fish prior to a town cookout, June 26, 1976. Our children who will be born this year will come of age in the 21st century. Ten years ago, when foreign oil was cheap, we imported just 2 1/2 million barrels of oil a day, about 20 percent of what we used. The fourth principle is that we must reduce our vulnerability to potentially devastating embargoes. We simply must balance our demand for energy with our rapidly shrinking resources. We are only Cheating ourselves if we make energy artificially cheap and use more than we can really afford. But, unfortunately, there are still some who seek personal gain over the national interest.

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