Jimmy Carter Administration and Environment Essay ⋆ Environment Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

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James Earl (“Jimmy”) Carter Jr. (1924) was the 39th president of the United States and served from 1977-81 as the leader of the Democratic Party. Walter Mondale, former U.S. Senator from Minnesota, served as his vice president. Citizens scarred by the Watergate scandal, which led to President Richard Nixon’s downfall and eventual resignation, perceived Carter as exemplifying simple principles of faith and honesty. Carter claimed a desire to restore integrity and morals to the American presidency and politics in general.

In terms of environmental challenges, the Carter administration is notable in its efforts to manage the oil shortages of the early 1970s, which had contributed to persistent levels of high unemployment and inflation in the country. The oil crisis further revealed America’s gross reliance on foreign oil. To address this dependence, the Carter administration planned to invest in alternative energies, together with conservation measures and an oil tax. However, this plan was stopped by the U.S. Senate. Public and political will for investment in alternative energy sources were simultaneously dampened by the core meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear energy plant in Pennsylvania. Nevertheless, Carter was more successful in his role in protecting 100 million acres in Alaska from land development, and establishing the Superfund to deal with environmental disasters. He also ordered the Tennessee Valley Authority to implement the 1974 Ford Foundation report to become a research-oriented society and initiate conservation techniques. An engineer himself, Carter also boldly challenged the Army Corps of Engineers, pursuing a “hit list” of high impact and expensive dam projects that he intended to derail. This last fight proved too difficult to win, but demonstrated Carter’s willingness to go after even the most “sacred cows” in pursuit of environmental protection.

The later part of the Carter administration was marred by international events that overtook the domestic agenda, including the revolution in Iran that led to the captivity of American hostages in the Iranian capital of Tehran and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Though he successfully negotiated arms deals with the Soviet Union, championed human rights internationally, and promoted peace in the Middle East, he lost the 1980 presidential race to Ronald Reagan, former Republican governor of California. Carter’s strong record on the environment remains notable however, especially as contemporary American presidents begin to wrestle with the problem of nonrenewable energy dependence, a high-priority problem highlighted by Carter decades ago. Despite the failures of his presidency, Americans have come to admire Carter’s post-presidency involvement in various public works through Habitat for Humanity and his role as a peacemaker on the international front. Carter’s leadership efforts to secure peace during and after his presidency led to him receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

Bibliography:

David S. Freeman, “Lessons Not Learned,” Energy Systems and Policy, (v.13/1, 1989);
Erwin C. Hargrove, Jimmy Carter as President: Leadership and the Politics of the Public Good (Louisiana State University Press, 1988);
Burton I. Kaufman, The Presidency of James Earl Carter, Jr. (University Press of Kansas, 1993).