President Jimmy Carter left behind huge environmental legacy
When it came to protecting Mother Earth, in many respects, the late President Jimmy Carter was way ahead of his time.
"Jimmy Carter was enormously aware of how important it was to preserve the land. He was an environmentalist in large measure and one of the things that he did was introduce the notion of clean energy," said Mark K. Updegrove.
Updegrove is president and CEO of the LBJ Foundation, a presidential historian who interviewed the late President Carter. He told CBS News Bay Area about Carter's concern with energy and conservation, and his installation of solar panels at the White House.
In 1979, President Carter assembled the press and unveiled the 32 panels that were installed on the roof of the White House West Wing.
"There will be a tremendous, exciting challenge to the American people," proclaimed Carter in front of the press.
The United States economy continued to battle the shock waves of the 1973 Iran oil embargo. Carter realized how the nation had to end its dependence on foreign oil.
Carter called the panels part of "a new solar strategy," saying while the flow of oil could be interrupted, that no one could ever embargo the sun.
The panels were used to heat water for the West Wing, with the added benefit of conserving energy by harnessing the power of the sun. But Carter knew it could be a challenge to the American people, who were used to flipping a switch and leaving the lights on.
"This solar strategy will not be easy to accomplish," he added to the throng of reporters.
Carter was sworn into office on January 20, 1977. In 1978, the 39th President of the United States signed a vigorously debated energy bill. It imposed penalties on gas-guzzling cars, required more energy efficient appliances and homes, and provided tax incentives for wind and solar technology growth.
But critics pointed out the bill also encouraged domestic coal mining and deregulated natural gas.
Another aspect of Carter's climate legacy was the protection he enacted for more than a dozen rivers, wetlands, national forests, and coastal areas.
A major accomplishment was President Carter's actions in Alaska.
In 1980, just weeks before the end of his presidency, Carter signed legislation known as the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act or ANILCA. The bill resulted in the protection of more than 100 million acres of public lands in Alaska, an area about the size of California.
The act designated the land as national parks and wildlife refuges. One new protected area, home to bears, caribou, sheep, wolves and more, is the Artic National Wildlife Refuge.
In 1990, that bold vision brought the former President to the refuge where he crossed paths with then KPIX News anchor Kate Kelly.
Kelly was camping on the refuge with her sister, the environmental author Debbie Miller, and Miller's two young daughters. Miller has written a number of books in Alaska, including the Artic National Wildlife Refuge.
Kelly had brought a home camera with her to record the trip, and was later glad that she did. The campers got a surprise visit from the former president, his wife Rosalynn, and a documentary crew from Discovery.
President Carter had asked the crew to make a beeline to the campground so he could meet Miller and discuss her writings.
In 1992, Kelly saw the former president again, this time in San Francisco.
Carter was on a tour promoting his then new book "Turning Point" when Kelly interviewed him about the book as well as energy policy.
"Our country really hasn't had much of a policy in the last few years. I wanted to ask you what did you think worked in your policy and what would you hope to see in a new energy policy?" asked Kelly.
Carter told Kelly how, under his administration, the nation had a very comprehensive policy put on the law books that required efficient automobiles, homes to be insulated so they wouldn't waste heat, and changed the rate structure on electricity to discourage the waste of electricity. His policies also required labels be put on all kinds of appliances to show how efficient they were, and emphasized the advantages of solar power.
"Those laws are still on the books," proclaimed the former President.
When Carter installed those solar panels in 1979, he wanted the nation to get 20% of its power from the sun by the year 2000. Many experts believe if we had done that, we'd be living on a much cooler planet.
At the end of the year, the United Nations said 2024 was set to be the warmest year ever recorded worldwide, driven largely by the burning of fossil fuels.
As for the West Wing solar panels? Carter's successor Ronald Reagan had them quietly removed, citing a roof repair. But they were never re-installed.
Today, many of these panels have found a new home. Some are at the Carter Library in Atlanta Georgia and the National Museum of American History as part of the Smithsonian Institute, while others are with the Solar Energy Industries Association and at the Solar Science and Technology Museum in Dezhou, China.
