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It wasn’t so long ago that the environmental movement was pushing for a mandatory reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to a level commensurate with avoiding the worst effects of climate change. Now, having lost on that front, that same movement’s biggest public relations maneuver these days is trying to get solar panels back on the White House.
A few of us have spent the past week carefully transporting a relic of American history down the East Coast, trying to return it to the White House, where it belongs.
It’s not a painting spirited from the Lincoln Bedroom or an antique sideboard stolen from the Roosevelt Room by some long-ago servant. No, this relic comes from the somewhat more prosaic Carter roof. It’s a solar panel, one of a large array installed on top of the White House in June 1979.
…we’re carrying the panel back to the White House and asking President Obama to put it back on the roof, alongside a full array of new photovoltaic and hot-water panels. Obama has drawn much of the blame for the failure of the climate legislation, which he didn’t push aggressively; this is a chance to make at least symbolic amends. Thus far, however, we have not gotten a firm response from the administration, even though other world leaders have pledged to join a Global Work Party on Oct. 10 (10-10-10). Mohamed Nasheed, president of the Maldive Islands, for instance, will be on the roof of his official residence bolting down panels donated by the American company Sungevity.
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.
I don’t know what’s more depressing – that McKibben correctly explains that one set of solar panels on one house is all we can expect at this point, or that he can’t even get that. The White House agreed to a meeting with McKibben and his activists today, and his organization 350.org reported back that they wouldn’t commit to anything:
(McKibben said) “The White House said they wouldn’t take the panel and that they would continue with their deliberative process in deciding to put solar back on the roof. We passed along the wish of the tens of thousands of people that the Administration would speed up their deliberative process; in any event, we’re actually done deliberating and our supporters are ready to get to work on their own homes, schools and churches on 10/10/10.”
The meeting was hosted by Michelle Moore, the Federal Environmental Executive, Amelia Salzman, Associate Director for Policy Outreach at the Council on Environmental Quality, and Greg Nelson, Deputy Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.
Jean Altomare, a senior wildlife major, expressed her disappointment in the Administration’s refusal to accept the panel:
“No tears fell in the room, but things were definitely tense. The meeting was a disappointment, but I’m proud that a few students from rural Maine could make these Administration officials feel so uncomfortable. They need to know we’re not going to let them off the hook when our future is on the line.”
By the way, there already are solar panels at the White House, they’re just not visible. In 2002, the Bush Administration installed them, but swore the contractors to secrecy and made sure they were put in a maintenance shed.
This small ball on the part of the environmental movement may be more realistic after years of disappointment, but it doesn’t make it any less depressing. I guess sometimes you have to go backwards to go forwards, but the planet doesn’t have a lot of time.
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The east coast isn’t really a great place to use solar.
David, you entirely missed the point.
First off, McKibben is right: the chances for legislation are slim in the current political climate. Because of that, we need to trying a lot of different tactics to change the politics around this issue.
One of those ways is pushing for presidential leadership and calling out the lack of it. Obama’s failure to really push hard on clean energy and climate was one of the major factors behind the failure in Congress. Pushing him to put solar on the White House is a small way to try and push him to pick up the mantle of leadership again. After all, Michelle’s organic garden drove up seed sales 30% last year.
Is it symbolic? Of course. But something the Right has understood forever that the Left always seems to fail to grasp is the power of symbols. Ground-zero mosque anyone?
Another way to change the current politics is to build more of a public movement. You probably missed Bill’s letter on direct action that came out earlier this week:
http://www.grist.org/article/2010-09-05-call-for-direct-action-in-climate-movement-we-need-your-ideas/
Bill’s also helping lead the charge on organizing thousands of events around the world for the 10/10/10 Global Work Party, where people will be mixing practical and political action to help shame our leaders into finally getting to work on this problem.
Will any one of these tactics work? Not likely. But perhaps some combination of theater, direct-action, political organizing, and movement building will get the job done.
Kudos to Bill and everyone who’s out there, putting their egos (or bodies) on the line to try and make something happen.
p.s. By the way, a few panels on the presidential cabana and spa isn’t the same as decking out the roof of the west wing with photovoltaics … again, symbolism matters.
Actually, Virginia and Maryland are about average for US states in terms of solar power potential, and the Deep South states do even better. Where the South falls down is in onshore wind power; coastal wind power is a much better deal for them, as this map shows. (Maybe all those capped offshore Gulf oil rigs could be repurposed?)
Then again, if the Solar Roadways project catches fire, it all becomes moot.
Reinstalling those solar panels would be a public relations disaster for both Obama and for enviros. I admire President Carter, who had the panels installed, but his presidency was troubled, and those panels became the symbol of that presidency. Republicans ridiculed Jimmy Carter for decades, and reinstalling those panels – the very same ones that were on the White House in 1978 – will guarantee that the ridicule resumes with Obama being compared to Carter. I am not defending Obama, just pointing out that his political advisors probably recognize the problems this would create. Furthermore, those panels will draw out the anti-enviro attitudes of the 1970s and offset 35 years of educating the public about the climate crisis.