PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — When Jimmy Carter chose branding designs for his presidential campaign, he passed on the usual red, white, and blue. He wanted green. Emphasizing how much the Georgia Democrat enjoyed nature and prioritized environmental policy, the color became ubiquitous. On buttons, bumper stickers, brochures, the sign rechristening the old Plains train depot as his campaign headquarters. Even the hometown election night party. "The minute it was announced, we all had the shirts to put on — and they were green, too," said LeAnne Smith, Carter's niece, recalling the 1976 victory celebration.
Nearly a half-century later, environmental advocates are remembering Carter, who died on Dec. 29 at the age of 100, as a president who elevated environmental stewardship, energy conservation, and discussions about the global threat of rising carbon dioxide levels. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to abandon the renewable energy investments President Joe Biden included in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, echoing how President Ronald Reagan dismantled the solar panels Carter installed on the White House roof. But politics aside, the scientific consensus has settled where Carter stood two generations earlier. "President Carter was four decades ahead of his time," said Manish Bapna, who leads the Natural Resources Defense Council. Carter called for cuts in greenhouse gas emissions well before "climate change" was part of the American lexicon, he said.
Wearing cardigans and setting standards, former Vice President Al Gore, whose climate advocacy earned him the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, called Carter "a lifelong role model for the entire environmental movement."
During his presidency, Carter implemented the first U.S. efficiency standards for passenger vehicles and household appliances. He created the U.S. Department of Energy, which streamlined energy research and more than doubled the wilderness area under National Park Service protection. Inviting ridicule, Carter asked Americans to conserve energy through personal sacrifice, including driving less and turning down thermostats amid global fuel shortages. He pushed renewable energy to lessen dependence on fossil fuels, calling for 20% of U.S. energy to come from alternative sources by 2000.
But laments linger about what the 39th president could not get done or did not try before his landslide defeat to Ronald Reagan. Carter left office in 1981 shortly after receiving a West Wing report linking fossil fuels to rising carbon dioxide levels in Earth's atmosphere. Carter's top environmental advisers urged "immediate" cutbacks on burning fossil fuels to reduce what scientists at the time called "carbon dioxide pollution." "Nobody anywhere in the world in a high government position was talking about this problem before Carter," biographer Jonathan Alter said.
The White House released the findings, which drew forgettable news coverage: The New York Times published its story on the 13th page of its front section. And with scant time left to act, there were no tangible moves Carter could make beyond the energy legislation he had already signed. The report recommended limiting global average temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. Thirty-five years later, during the 2015 Paris climate accords, participating nations would set similar goals. Alter opined, "If he had been reelected, it’s fair to say we would have begun addressing climate change early on." He added, "When you think about it, it adds a kind of tragic dimension, almost, to his political defeat."
Reagan ended high-level conversations about carbon emissions, opposing efficiency standards as government overreach and rolling back some regulations. His chief of staff, Don Regan, called the solar panels "a joke."
Despite Carter’s emphasis on renewable sources, the fossil fuel industry benefited from his push toward U.S. energy independence. Collin O'Mara, CEO of the National Wildlife Foundation, pointed to coal-fired power plants built during and shortly after Carter’s term and his deregulation of natural gas production, which he called "a precursor to widespread fracking." Bapna noted Carter backed drilling off the coasts of Long Island and New England. Steven Nadel, executive director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, described Carter’s Synthetic Fuels Corporation, which aimed at producing fossil fuel alternatives but would have meant higher carbon emissions.
But Carter had the right priorities, especially on research and development coordinated through the Energy Department, Nadel said. "He allowed us to have a national approach rather than one agency here and another there."
Carter's environmental interests stretched back to his rural upbringing filled with hunting and fishing and working on his father’s farmland. "Jimmy Carter was an environmentalist before it was part of the political discussion — and I’m not talking about solar panels on the White House," said Dubose Porter, a longtime Georgia Democratic Party leader. Porter noted Carter's early years influenced him as governor, where he boosted Georgia's state parks system and opposed funding for damaging projects.
During his presidency, Carter extended federal protection for over 150 million acres, including redwood forests and vast swaths of Alaska. Randall Balmer, a Dartmouth College professor, emphasizes Carter's belief as being akin to stewardship of divinely granted resources. "That’s a real connection young evangelicals still have with him today," Balmer stated.
Carter’s outlook stemmed from experiences during the energy shortages driven by global strife, particularly from the oil-rich Middle East, where national security and economic interests merged with his religious beliefs and natural affinity. He described the energy crisis as "the moral equivalent of war," advocating for sacrifice and action on renewable energy amid growing inflation and fuel queues.
His speech on this "malaise" — dubbed so by the media — was unique for its condemnation of unbridled American consumerism. Carter’s address enjoyed viewership of over 100 million; by 2010, he admitted it fell flat but noted its prescience calling for bold moves on energy. "You can say the Carter presidency continues to produce results today," noted Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who ran for president focused on climate action during 2020. He added, "I’ve learned timing is everything, and serendipity is everything."