Greening the White House
Greening the White House
On April 21st, the eve of Earth Day in the US, President Clinton made the following announcement: "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."
As a result of extensive audits, over 50 actions are being taken, including practical and cost-effective landscaping, waste reduction, recycling, and water and energy-efficiency improvements.
At the top of the list of measures being undertaken in the project is a series of lighting retrofits, including the installation of CFLs in the President's study and dining room, occupancy sensors, and metal halide lamps to replace mercury vapor lamps. In addition, lighter interior paints are being considered and existing historic skylights are being modified to capture more daylight. In the Victorian-era Old Executive Office Building, T8 lamps and electronic ballasts will become the standard for future lamp and ballast purchasing.
Evan Mills