Thanks to former President Clinton, the framework for a more earth-friendly White House is already in place. The framework, 1993’s the Greening the White House report, was prepared by the Rocky Mountain Institute and carried out by the Bush administration after Clinton left office. It’s the real deal. All and all, the White House is already greener than we may think, although I’m sure there’s room for improvement.

 

However, the demands that Obama is proactive in continuing to green-up the White House are near deafening. Personally, I say give the man time to adjust to his new gig before focusing on his new digs. Green change to the White House will come; let’s just concentrate on fixing the economy before we fix the light bulbs in the Lincoln Bedroom.

 

The most obvious reason that the Obama administration is under such pressure to render the White House green is to set an eco-example for the rest of the country. Nothing wrong with that, but this got me thinking: Are there other presidents, prime ministers, heads of state, and royalty that reside in eco-friendly homes? Do the leaders of countries with exceptional environmental policies like Iceland, Germany, Denmark and Australia end the day in manses with solar panels and rainwater catchment systems? Did Gordon Brown install bamboo floors when relocating to 10 Downing Street (doesn’t seem so but Number 10 is indeed heading in the right direction)? And what about gubernatorial residences?