President Carter is currently under hospice care. Before it is all too late and rendered moot by life's irreversible course, I want to express my appreciation for the man who is an inspiration to me.
Dear President Carter,
I was a chemistry graduate student in 1978 when I first heard your call for a moral equivalent of war to gain energy independence, in the wake of oil embargoes by OPEC. Caricaturists called this your “meow” moment. It was more a “roar” to me, and I enlisted as a foot soldier in your army in this “moral equivalent of war.” I worked most of my career on energy-related issues: at first the problem was rather simple. We lacked liquid fuels to meet our transportation needs, but we had plenty of coal. Coal had been converted to liquids.
The technology for liquefying coal was developed in early twentieth century in Germany, but it was very expensive. It was also deployed by Germany during the war and later by South Africa to mitigate international sanctions, but the costs needed to come down substantially for coal-derived liquids to compete with oil in a free economy. The energy challenge has since become a whole lot tougher with the recognition of the climate change engendered by burning fossil fuels for energy. Today, we seek energy from sources that are also environmentally benign and compatible with the goals of sustainability.
Working in the field of energy made me acutely aware of the looming energy crisis humanity is facing, and the need for an informed public debate on the choices we have to make. About fifteen years ago, I joined my colleagues Hew Crane and Ed Kinderman to write a book that could be a citizens’ guide to energy. Admittedly, energy is a difficult subject to discuss, but it is made even more so by the plethora of units and mind numbing multipliers of billions, trillions, and quadrillions.
While waiting in the gas lines in 1973, Hew had come to the realization that annual global consumption of oil was then approaching one cubic mile, and a cubic mile of oil seemed to be a good unit to describe energy from all sources. At a conference in January 2016, physicist Amory Lovins brought to my attention that you had arrived at a similar conclusion, but that as a navy man he preferred cubic nautical miles. I did some searching of old documents from your days in the White House and came across a memo dated April 18, 1977, by Stu Eizenstat converting barrels to cubic miles. There were also some hand scribbled calculations on the page, probably by you. The thought made a tingle ran up my spine.
Energy is not the only area in which you have inspired me. Your moral rectitude and tireless pursuit of social justice have been just as inspiring. Your efforts at resolving conflicts, promoting peace through free and fair elections, and fighting diseases are all laudable. The way you have dedicated your life to public service after the presidency stands as a shining example of how to live out one’s retirement.
Wishing you comfort and peace in your remaining days.
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