August 15, 2008

The man with a plan

Dr. Robert Peltier, Editor-in-Chief

I haven’t always been a supporter of former President Jimmy Carter’s politics, but I did vote for him, mainly because we shared the Navy experience and he was educated as an engineer. His later opposition to nuclear power surprised many of us in the power business at the time, and I found his suggestion to wear a sweater instead of pushing up the thermostat quaint. My view of his politics hasn’t changed, but I remain a fan of the man, especially his work with Habitat for Humanity.

We weren’t listening

Carter delivered his now-famous national energy policy speech on April 18, 1977. “With the exception of preventing war,” he said, “this [energy crisis] 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.” Carter continued: “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.” In 1970 we were importing 24% of the oil we used, but by the time of Carter’s speech, the U.S. imported almost 48%.

Carter then gave us our medicine: “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.”

The Straight Talk Express and Mr. Change could learn from Carter how to unambiguously define the current situation, no matter how unpalatable that might be. But I’m not optimistic that will happen, as no politician wants to deliver bad news to voters on the eve of a close election.

Carter’s problem wasn’t with his energy plan but with its delivery: He couldn’t sell it to the American people because they believed the cure was worse than the disease. Not so today. Four-dollar-a-gallon gasoline has shocked us out of apathy, and energy policy now has our undivided attention. In 2008 we will import 70% of the oil we use.

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