WHITEHOUSE SOLAR COMES HOME

Carter's solar panels headed back to Washington
Glenn Adams, September 7, 2010 (Boston Globe)

"…Environmental author and activist Bill McKibben is leading Unity College students and staff on [a] solar road trip [to Washington with a well-traveled and recycled solar panel that once stood atop President Jimmy Carter's White House]…[Stops are] planned in Boston and New York en route…’[They want to show support for renewable energy and] hope to convince President Barack Obama to install new solar panels…

"The solar panels were placed in service on the White House by Carter's order during the late 1970s as a symbol of commitment to increasing the nation's use of renewable resources…They were removed by President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s and put in storage."

click to enlarge

"Unity College later discovered the panels and obtained them from the government…In the 1990s, 16 of the panels were used to heat water in the cafeteria serving the college's 580 students until they reached the end of their functional lives and were taken out of service.

"Though they're worn out, they continue to serve as symbols of environmental awareness. In August, Unity formally presented one of the solar panels to the chairman of Himin Solar Energy Group of China, which planned to place it in a museum in Shendog Province."

Bill McKibben talks solar power with David Letterman. From 350org via YouTube

"Now McKibben, who appeared last week on the David Letterman Show to discuss climate change, is headed to Washington in a trip sponsored in part by the climate change-awareness group 350.org. They're transporting the solar panel in a biodiesel van owned by [Unity College]..."

[Bill McKibben, activist/founder, 350.org:] "I can't think of a clearer win for the president, a better reminder to the legions of young people who worked on his campaign that he is still focused on the future…"