Jimmy Carter’s unfaltering commitment to act on his vision of a better country and a better world is an example to us all.
During his presidency, the administration’s agenda leaned into protecting the public interest. President Carter sought to eliminate government waste; required cars to have seat belts, airbags and other safety improvements; helped to establish the federal Superfund to clean up toxic waste; and signed a bill to preserve more than 100 million acres of the world’s last remaining wilderness in Alaska. And in 1980, when PIRG’s Campaign for Safe Energy urged the Democratic Party to adopt an anti-nuclear, pro-solar plank in its platform, President Carter — a nuclear engineer by training — agreed. PIRG’s efforts in all these issue areas in the ensuing years were bolstered by Carter’s actions.
To some, Carter’s post-presidential achievements exceeded those of his administration. He alleviated homelessness in partnership with Habitat for Humanity and served repeatedly as a diplomat and negotiator. In 1982, he and his wife Rosalynn founded the Carter Center, which has vigorously pursued election integrity, human rights, conflict mediation and disease prevention. For these efforts and others, Carter received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
To us, Carter’s life after 1980 was of a piece with his presidency. His life embodied the dictate often attributed to the theologian John Wesley: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”
We offer our condolences to President Carter’s family and all who knew and loved him.
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Andre directs The Public Interest Network’s national campaign staff and programs. His previous roles include national organizing director of the Student PIRGs and executive director of PIRG. He lives in Chicago with his wife and daughter, and is an avid cyclist and chess player.
Steph works on the Designed to Last Campaign, where she conducts policy outreach to build expert and public support, researches industry wide product disposability, and writes about the cycle of disposability and manufacturers’ role in unnecessary consumer spending and e-waste. She lives in the New York suburbs with her family and spends her free time doing the crossword, scrolling through Goodreads, and following the cat from room to room.
