Sep 11, 2010
A quest to get Barack Obama to shout his commitment to solar power
from the roof tops - by re-installing vintage solar panels at the White
House - ended in disappointment for environmental campaigners today.
Bill McKibben, the founder of 350.org, had led a group of environmental activists to Washington in a bio-diesel van hoping to persuade Obama to re-install a set of solar panels originally put up by Jimmy Carter.
The
actual Carter-era solar panels - which weigh in at 55 kilograms and are
nearly 2 metres long - are out-dated now. But campaigners had hoped
that the White House would embrace at least the symbolism of going solar
- much like Michelle Obama kicked off her healthy food movement by planting a vegetable garden.
"Clearly,
a solar panel on the White House roof won't solve climate change - and
we'd rather have strong presidential leadership on energy
transformation. But given the political scene, this may be as good as
we'll get for the moment," McKibben said in a Washington Post comment this morning.
A California company Sungevity had offered to equip the White House with the latest technology.
But
the White House declined - twitchy perhaps about inviting any
comparison to one-term Democratic president Carter in the run-up to the
very difficult mid-term elections in November. The White House did send
three staffers to meet the campaigners.
McKibben told reporters after the meeting:
"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."
The White House offered up its own version of the meeting in a statement:
"Representatives from the White House met with the group to discuss President Obama's unprecedented commitment to renewable energy
including more than $80 billion in the generation of renewable energy
sources, expanding manufacturing capacity for clean energy technology,
advancing vehicle and fuel technologies, and building a bigger, better,
smarter electric grid, all while creating new, sustainable jobs...They
concluded by reiterating our continued commitment to promoting renewable
energy development."
Carter held a rooftop press
conference in 1979 to show off the 32 solar panels and drive home a
message to Congress that it was time to get America off imported oil.
The panels were used to heat water for the White House staff mess.
The
message did not take though, and the panels themselves did not even
survive Ronald Reagan. The panels were removed in 1986 during roof
repairs. They eventually ended up at Unity College in Maine where they were used to heat water in the student cafeteria until 2005 when they were retired.
The van carrying the solar panels is now parked a few blocks away from the White House and will be rolling again on 10th October as part of the 10:10:10 international day of action on climate change.
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Join with us today! |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
A quest to get Barack Obama to shout his commitment to solar power
from the roof tops - by re-installing vintage solar panels at the White
House - ended in disappointment for environmental campaigners today.
Bill McKibben, the founder of 350.org, had led a group of environmental activists to Washington in a bio-diesel van hoping to persuade Obama to re-install a set of solar panels originally put up by Jimmy Carter.
The
actual Carter-era solar panels - which weigh in at 55 kilograms and are
nearly 2 metres long - are out-dated now. But campaigners had hoped
that the White House would embrace at least the symbolism of going solar
- much like Michelle Obama kicked off her healthy food movement by planting a vegetable garden.
"Clearly,
a solar panel on the White House roof won't solve climate change - and
we'd rather have strong presidential leadership on energy
transformation. But given the political scene, this may be as good as
we'll get for the moment," McKibben said in a Washington Post comment this morning.
A California company Sungevity had offered to equip the White House with the latest technology.
But
the White House declined - twitchy perhaps about inviting any
comparison to one-term Democratic president Carter in the run-up to the
very difficult mid-term elections in November. The White House did send
three staffers to meet the campaigners.
McKibben told reporters after the meeting:
"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."
The White House offered up its own version of the meeting in a statement:
"Representatives from the White House met with the group to discuss President Obama's unprecedented commitment to renewable energy
including more than $80 billion in the generation of renewable energy
sources, expanding manufacturing capacity for clean energy technology,
advancing vehicle and fuel technologies, and building a bigger, better,
smarter electric grid, all while creating new, sustainable jobs...They
concluded by reiterating our continued commitment to promoting renewable
energy development."
Carter held a rooftop press
conference in 1979 to show off the 32 solar panels and drive home a
message to Congress that it was time to get America off imported oil.
The panels were used to heat water for the White House staff mess.
The
message did not take though, and the panels themselves did not even
survive Ronald Reagan. The panels were removed in 1986 during roof
repairs. They eventually ended up at Unity College in Maine where they were used to heat water in the student cafeteria until 2005 when they were retired.
The van carrying the solar panels is now parked a few blocks away from the White House and will be rolling again on 10th October as part of the 10:10:10 international day of action on climate change.
A quest to get Barack Obama to shout his commitment to solar power
from the roof tops - by re-installing vintage solar panels at the White
House - ended in disappointment for environmental campaigners today.
Bill McKibben, the founder of 350.org, had led a group of environmental activists to Washington in a bio-diesel van hoping to persuade Obama to re-install a set of solar panels originally put up by Jimmy Carter.
The
actual Carter-era solar panels - which weigh in at 55 kilograms and are
nearly 2 metres long - are out-dated now. But campaigners had hoped
that the White House would embrace at least the symbolism of going solar
- much like Michelle Obama kicked off her healthy food movement by planting a vegetable garden.
"Clearly,
a solar panel on the White House roof won't solve climate change - and
we'd rather have strong presidential leadership on energy
transformation. But given the political scene, this may be as good as
we'll get for the moment," McKibben said in a Washington Post comment this morning.
A California company Sungevity had offered to equip the White House with the latest technology.
But
the White House declined - twitchy perhaps about inviting any
comparison to one-term Democratic president Carter in the run-up to the
very difficult mid-term elections in November. The White House did send
three staffers to meet the campaigners.
McKibben told reporters after the meeting:
"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."
The White House offered up its own version of the meeting in a statement:
"Representatives from the White House met with the group to discuss President Obama's unprecedented commitment to renewable energy
including more than $80 billion in the generation of renewable energy
sources, expanding manufacturing capacity for clean energy technology,
advancing vehicle and fuel technologies, and building a bigger, better,
smarter electric grid, all while creating new, sustainable jobs...They
concluded by reiterating our continued commitment to promoting renewable
energy development."
Carter held a rooftop press
conference in 1979 to show off the 32 solar panels and drive home a
message to Congress that it was time to get America off imported oil.
The panels were used to heat water for the White House staff mess.
The
message did not take though, and the panels themselves did not even
survive Ronald Reagan. The panels were removed in 1986 during roof
repairs. They eventually ended up at Unity College in Maine where they were used to heat water in the student cafeteria until 2005 when they were retired.
The van carrying the solar panels is now parked a few blocks away from the White House and will be rolling again on 10th October as part of the 10:10:10 international day of action on climate change.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.