Jimmy Carter

After the news recently about Jimmy Carter having cancer many on the internet gave their thoughts on the man. Many focused on what he has done after he was president. He has accomplished more after his presidency than most of us accomplish in our entire lifetime.

I have always respected Jimmy Carter. I actually thought he was a better president than most of the presidents I have seen in my lifetime.

If someone gave me one of those word association tests and said "Jimmy Carter" I would respond "solar power". So far I have not come across anyone mentioning solar power when they opine about Jimmy Carter. Lots of people made fun of him at the time when he gave a televised speech while wearing a sweater. They also mocked him for having solar panels installed on the top of the White House.

From Wikipedia:

On April 18, 1977, Carter delivered a televised speech declaring that the U.S. energy crisis during the 1970s was the moral equivalent of war. He encouraged energy conservation by all U.S. citizens and installed solar water heating panels on the White House. He wore sweaters to offset turning down the heat in the White House.

Ask any sane and rational person what the biggest problem facing us currently is and most will respond that it is climate change. Jimmy Carter was looking for solutions to this problem back in the nineteen seventies. Solar is now a profitable and growing industry. I see ads on television for local installation. Elon Musk is associated with solar. Solar provides people with jobs.

Jimmy Carter was a futuristic visionary. That is my opinion of him.

By the way, one of the first things Ronald Reagan did as president was to have the solar panels removed from the top of the White House.

That Was Then And This Is Now

Then:

Jimmy Carter put solar panels on the White House roof, and offered tax credits to anyone who purchased solar energy systems. When Ronald Reagan took office, one of the first things he did was remove the solar panels from the White House and terminate the tax credits. Many people in the solar industry went out of business. The country was convinced that solar doesn't work.

The Time Between Then And Now:

Wasted years and bad leadership as far as energy is concerned. Ronald Reagan helped convince nearly everyone that solar doesn't work. The consensus was that Jimmy Carter was a doofus. Politicians talk a lot about taxes. Ronald Reagan is anointed to sainthood by the Right Wing. Oil consumption and more oil consumption. Rush Limbaugh inexplicably becomes a power-house media figure and further elevates Reagan (into godhood I suppose) while denouncing Carter, and talks a lot about taxes. Politicians talk some more about taxes. GM kills the EV1. Politicians keep talking about taxes. Wars and more wars fought over oil.

Now:

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman inaugurated a solar energy system Tuesday at the department's headquarters in Washington.

The new system involves a 205 kilowatt photovoltaic solar array placed on the roof of the building. The photovoltaic system is 40- to 50 times the size of a typical residential PV system and is one of the largest in the Washington area, officials said. It is expected to save as much as $26,000 in utility costs during its first year of operation.

"As America's largest energy consumer, the U.S. government has the responsibility and the opportunity to lead the way to a cleaner, more efficient, more affordable and more secure energy future," Bodman said in prepared remarks. "I determined the Department of Energy should -- and would -- lead by example."

Bodman said the significance of the solar array is both practical and symbolic: "It improves the way the department consumes energy. And it is a symbol of America's commitment to using the best available new technologies to confront the energy challenges we face today and will face tomorrow."

Politicians are still talking about taxes.

Meanwhile I’m thinking that “affordable solar power for all” would be a good campaign slogan.