Just to show you how open minded I am, Jimmy Carter deserves credit for one successful energy policy.

In 1974 about 17% of U.S. electricity was produced by by burning oil and 18% came from natural gas. Carter’s Fuel Use Act discouraged this and by 1985 oil generators supplied only 4.1% of our electricity. Today oil is down to 3%. Nuclear power went from 4% in 1973 to 20% today.

The success was because the policy focused on substituting a better fuel rather than conservation. During that period energy consumption increased substantially.

While the Fuel Use Act was a success, most of the rest of Carter’s energy policies were substantial failures.

from Energy Victory by Robert Zubrin

print