Celebrated as the most eco-friendly US president of the current era, Jimmy Carter lived and legislated with nature in mind.
PublishedHe could identify every bird in the trees of his parents’ peanut farm in Plains, Georgia. He had a pet alligator and enjoyed trips to the Okefenokee Swamp, the largest wetland in the South and also the biggest area of US public land off-limits to development. The most eco-friendly President of the modern era, Jimmy Carter drew upon his lifelong love of nature to govern.
When he became President, Carter was the first global leader to recognize the problem of climate change. In 1977, he commissioned the, an ambitious effort to explore environmental challenges and the prospects of the newly coined “sustainable development” over the next 20 years.
Carter urged Americans to turn down their thermostats while sporting a sweater. In a move less symbolic and more enduring, he signed a bill creating the Energy Department, which grew from a weak agency to today’s complex network of nearly 14,000 employees at headquarters in Washington and 17 national labs nationwide. He called for renewable energy to make up 20% of the nation’s energy mix by 2000 at a time when renewables comprised a mere 7% of energy consumption that year.
“Carter was a true visionary. As President he stood up for the protection of American rivers and land. He predicted the climate crises, promoted renewable energy and told the public to reduce their consumption of oil when this was anything but popular. His concern was the planet and future of humankind.”In order to model ways to save energy and reduce US dependence on fossil fuels, Carter lowered the thermostat and installed 32 solar panels on the White House.
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