Greening the White House

WASHINGTON — Following suit with past residents of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, President Barack Obama wants to make the White House more environmentally friendly, according to an Associated Press story hosted by Google.com.


Building on former President Bill Clinton's "greening the White House" project of 1993 and former President George W. Bush's solar panel and recycling efforts are Obama's plans to have the housekeeping staff switch to greener cleaning supplies and to have complex managers ask engineers and groundskeepers to use greener products whenever possible, the story stated.


According to the story, Obama promised before he took office that he wanted to sit down with White House staff to evaluate what can be done to conserve energy in the 132-room building that has a EEE-sized carbon footprint.


Obama said: "Part of what I want to do is to show the American people that it's not that hard. I'm not going to be obsessive about it. But I do that in my current house. So there's no reason why I wouldn't do it in my next one."


Architect Jean Carroon, an expert on green strategies for historic buildings, said the White House isn't the "energy hog" that people might think as older buildings often have thick masonry walls that provide good insulation and big windows that let in lots of daylight, the story noted.


In following the environmentally preferable trend, the Obamas have installed an environmentally friendly wooden swing set for their children that has cushioning made from recycled rubber tires, the story added.