1978: NOAA announces gender-neutral hurricane naming system
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On this day in 1979, President Jimmy Carter addressed the nation via live television to discuss the nation’s energy crisis and accompanying recession. Carter prefaced his talk about energy policy with an explanation of why he believed the American economy remained in crisis. He recounted a meeting he had hosted at the presidential retreat in Camp David, where attendees said that Americans were also suffering from a deeper moral and spiritual crisis. Carter concluded this was at the core of America’s inability to hoist itself out of its economic troubles. He also admitted his failure to provide strong leadership on many issues, particularly energy and oil consumption. In 1979, America could still feel the effects of OPEC’s 1973 cuts in oil production, while Europe and Japan were out-producing the U.S. in energy-efficient automobiles. Carter then described his energy policy plans, which included the implementation of mandatory conservation efforts, deep cuts in the nation’s dependence on foreign oil, a “massive commitment of funds and resources” to develop alternative fuel sources and the creation of a “solar bank” that he said would eventually supply 20 percent of the nation’s energy.
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