Solar panels to be installed?

Way back when I was a little girl, President Jimmy Carter installed solar panels on the White House in order to save energy costs and in response to the oil crisis in the early 1970s.  Those panels have been gone since Reagan took over the Presidency in 1980.  With the recent election of President-Elect Obama, many are calling for him to set a great energy example for the rest of the nation, particularly given recent spikes in oil prices and continued unrest in the Middle East.  Will Obama install solar panels on the White House again?

To be fair, G.W. Bush did start taking some steps regarding solar panels on the White House when, five years ago, the National Park Service put solar panels on smaller buildings on the White House grounds.  Obama can do better than that!  Putting solar panels back on the roof of the White House itself would truly be leadership by example.  For those that are concerned about whether the panels would be an eyesore, building-integrated solar panels could be considered so as not to disturb the roofline of the building.  Technology has come a long way since the 1970s with respect to photovoltaic solar panels.  The cost is down, efficiency is up and overall, consumers can see a great reduction in power costs by harnessing the energy from the sun.

What do you think?  Should we urge Obama to install solar panels on the White House once again?  Don’t you think that Change for America should include more responsible renewable energy at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?