San Francisco (Obama.net)- Throughout the United States of America, debates over energy have been going on for decades. Citizens have been arguing over using gas, oil, nuclear energy, and other cleaner sources of energy such as solar and wind power. In a time when the call to protect the environment, which we have punished brutally for centuries, it makes all of the sense in the world for the leaders of this nation to lead by example.
Thus is why President Obama is taking a page out of former President Jimmy Carter’s playbook. Carter is the only Head of State in American history to install solar panels on the roof of the White House.
Carter put them on the roof of the capital building in 1979 as a symbol of the need to find new means for energy as the country was going through oil problems via tensions in the Middle East, which limited supplies to the United States. The energy from the panels was used to heat the water in the White House.
The solar panels were removed by Carter’s successor, Ronald Reagan in 1986.
But now, President Barack Obama is reinstalling solar panels to the White House roof.
According to Steven Chu, the Energy Secretary, “by the end of this spring, there will be solar panels that convert sunlight into electricity and a solar hot water heater on the roof of the White House.”
Chu further stressed that “around the world the White House is a symbol of freedom and democracy,” and that the way the Obama Administration sees it, “it should also be a symbol of American commitment to a clean energy future.”
Obama has made it clear that when it comes to him, his administration, and the entire United States government, they will lead by example. As Obama is pushing for alternative energy initiatives and new jobs in the clean energy industry, he believes it is only right that the White House be a part of that movement and in a very visible way such as solar panels on the roof.
Even though they will not be installed until the spring of 2011, the hope is that once they are installed, many of the other clean energy initiatives will also be up and running and the United States will be well on its way to being the model of excellence in terms of using clean energy and protecting the environment.
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