Obama Says No to Installing Solar Panels on the White House
To the disappointment of environmental activists, the Obama administration has declined to put solar panels on the White House roof.
The organization 350.org, founded by Bill McKibben, has led a campaign to have Barack Obama re-install a set of solar panels which were originally installed on the White House by Jimmy Carter in 1979. The panels are obviously outdated but, according to the campaign, would serve as a symbol of the U.S. government's commitment to a new energy future.
The movement to install solar power on the White House stretched beyond installing symbolic panels. Sungevity, a California-based solar company, has offered to install leading-edge solar panels on the White House for free.
On Friday, McKibben and the rest of the campaigners met with government official outside the White House in Washington. Of the meeting, McKibben explained:
"They refused to take the Carter-era panel that we brought with us and said they would continue their deliberative process to figure out what is appropriate for the White House someday. I told them it would be nice to deliberate as fast as possible, since that is the rate at which the planet's climate is deteriorating."
Read the full story at The Guardian: Barack Obama says 'no' to solar panels on the White House roof
Image credit: 350.org
Nathanael Baker is the Managing Editor of EnergyBoom. He has researched and reported on the issues of renewable energy, sustainability, and climate change for over two years. He has provided research to the New York Times and The Economist, as well as being published on different media outlets including, The Energy Collective.
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