Back in 1979, President Jimmy Carter did the unthinkable: He installed solar panels on top of the White House. The green addition was used to heat water for the staff eating era — and usher in a new era in American innovation and independence from foreign fossil fuels.

Of course, that never happened — Regan had them taken down during a roof repair in the 80s. The panels were then thrown into storage until actress Glen Close (of course!) helped Unity College secure them to heat hot water for their cafeteria. Then, as we reported last year, the panels were decommissioned and one of them had a starring role in the documentary A Road Not Taken. That panel eventually found its way to the Jimmy Carter Library & Museum in Atlanta.

Now, Google is saying they’ve got one of the legendary 32 in their Washington, DC office. From their blog,

In 1979 President Jimmy Carter installed 32 solar hot water panels on the roof of the White House. Recently a Googler from our Washington D.C. office asked the question, “What ever happened to the Carter panels?” After a little digging, we were able to track down the original panels to Unity College, an environmental college in Maine, and bring one of them back to Washington D.C.

So there we have it! These things are becoming as popular (and possibly magical) as the sacred crystal skulls.

In an interview with Barbara Walters this evening, President-elect Barack Obama mentioned that he plans on “greening” the White House. Obama said he plans to sit down with the chief usher for the presidential mansion and do an evaluation of its energy efficiency. He says part of what he wants to do is show the American people that it’s not that hard to go green.

Since he already turns off the lights (and unplugs energy-wasting electronics when not in use) at his current home in Chicago, he feels there’s no reason why the same can’t be done at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Not since President Jimmy Carter threw some solar panels on top of the White House has an incoming President shown such interest in serving as a “green” example to Americans. So refreshing to see a leader actually serve as a role model for a change, isn’t it?

On 54 days, everyone.

Back in 1979, President Jimmy Carter did the unthinkable: He installed solar panels on top of the White House. The green addition was used to heat water for the staff eating era — and usher in a new era in American innovation and independence from foreign fossil fuels.

Regan had the panels removed during a roof in repair in 1986 — and as a symbol of where we are today, never had them reinstalled. They were later found in government storage, and with a little help from actress Glen Close, used to heat water in the cafeteria of Unity College until 2005

Now, those same panels are the subject of a new documentary called A Road Not Taken, which uses their story as a backdrop to highlight “American oil dependency and the political lack of will to pursue alternative energy.”

From the article,

“In the movie, the two took one solar panel from Unity, placed it in the back of two students’ 1990 Dodge Ram pick-up truck that was retrofitted to run on vegetable oil and delivered it to the Jimmy Carter Library & Museum in Atlanta. Keller was even able to hook up the solar panel to the pick-up truck to heat hot water for a shower before the institution took formal possession of the panel last year.”

The film will be screened July 13 and 18th as part the Maine International Film Festival in Waterville.

via boston.com

There’s a rumor drifting online just above a whisper that Al Gore and Jimmy Carter may be about to act either together or in sequence to end the Democratic primary and gather support behind a single candidate.

Such rumors generally come from barely-credible sources, in this case the UK Scotsman, but if true it would be a blow to the one candidate suspected to not be getting the endorsement of either gentleman: Hillary Clinton. From the article,

“Former president Carter and former vice-president Gore have already held high-level discussions about delivering the message that she must stand down for the good of the Democrats. ‘They’re in discussions,’ a source close to Carter told Scotland on Sunday. ‘Carter has been talking to Gore. They will act, possibly together, or in sequence.’ An appeal by both men for Democrats to unite behind Clinton’s rival, Barack Obama, would have a powerful effect, and insiders say it is a question of when, rather than if, they act.”

Other sources claim that such an announcement might be imminent — which would be interesting strategy ahead of the April 22nd Pennsylvania primary.

Stay tuned!