Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, died at his home in Plains, Ga., on Sunday. He was 100.
Carter’s interest in promoting renewable energy was on display at his January 20, 1977 presidential inauguration. Solar panels were installed to warm the reviewing stand near the White House, where Carter watched the inaugural parade.
“It happened to be one of the coldest days of the year that morning and very little sun,” says Paul Muldawer, the Atlanta architect Carter tapped to design his inauguration facilities.
“We made a statement, although it honestly didn’t work as well as I would have liked it to work,” Muldawer says. Wind chill that day was in the teens, according to the National Weather Service.
Carter wanted a ceremony that reflected his values. That extended to the reviewing stand, which was built so it wouldn’t end up in a landfill after the ceremony. Instead of wood, it was made of steel.
“After the inauguration, we had it disassembled, shipped to Atlanta, and then it was recycled as a bandstand,” says Muldawer, who’s now 92. The structure was in a public park where free concerts were held. “Carter was just thrilled with that. He really liked the idea of repurposing that facility.”
The inauguration set the stage for Carter’s four years as President. His environmental legacy has shaped how the country is responding to climate change today.
“At the time that Jimmy Carter was president, his biggest concern was energy security,” says Amy Myers Jaffe, director of the Energy, Climate Justice and Sustainability Lab at New York University.
In 1977, the U.S. was importing 8.81 million barrels of petroleum a day, mostly from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or the OPEC cartel. That made the U.S. vulnerable during the 1973 Arab oil embargo, which led to long lines at gas stations.
In several ways Jaffe says Carter was ahead of his time by being an early advocate for conserving energy and boosting renewable electricity, such as solar power. But Carter also promoted domestic coal mining. The subsequent growth of that industry contributed to the warming climate the world is experiencing now.
