Obama plans to 'green' the White House

But other presidents have picked up where Carter left off. On Earth Day, 1993, President Bill Clinton announced a plan for a comprehensive energy audit of the 200-year old building. Like Carter, President Clinton hoped to set an example:

"For as long as I live in the White House, I want Americans to see it not only as a symbol of clean government, but also a clean environment. We're going to identify what it takes to make the White House a model for efficiency and waste reduction, and then we're going to get the job done. . . Before I can ask you to do the best you can in your house, I ought to make sure I'm doing the best I can in my house."

This quotation is from the Greening the White House report [PDF] that Clinton commissioned. The report, which was prepared by the Rocky Mountain Institute, a sustainability think tank identified a number of improvements – from modifying skylights to provide more natural light to upgrading the HVAC systems to installing more efficient windows – that could reduce the building's resource consumption by 50 percent, all without disturbing the Clintons or their cat, Socks.

It's not clear how many of these upgrades were actually implemented under Clinton, but President Bush continued with his predecessor's initiative.

In 2002, a grid of 167 solar photovoltaic panels were installed on the roof, as well as a solar water-heating system designed on the same principles as the one Carter had installed. In 2007, an NBC reporter noted that the White House featured energy efficient lighting, low-flush toilets, smart lawn sprinklers, improved insulation, and fuel-efficient minivans.

The White House has often served as a showcase for innovations that subsequently became widespread. Examples include an indoor water closet installed by Thomas Jefferson, a central heating system installed by Martin van Buren, electric lights installed by Benjamin Harrison, and an elevator installed by Chester A. Arthur.

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