Did you know that the White House proudly displayed solar panels back in 1979?  President Jimmy Carter had 32 solar panels installed on the roof of the White House to heat water during the national energy crisis caused by the Arab oil embargo. Carter encouraged many environmental advances during his presidency and predicted that “a generation from now, this solar heater can either be a curiosity, a museum piece, an example of a road not taken, or it can be a small part of one of the greatest and most exciting adventures ever undertaken by the American people; harnessing the power of the sun to enrich our lives as we move away from our crippling dependence on foreign oil.”

Unfortunately, these solar panels did not make it to see the outcome of this statement. They lasted less than five years. One of the first decrees by President Ronald Reagan when he took office in 1981 was to remove the solar panels from the White House roof. Reagan had a much different environmental perspective than Carter did and undid a lot of the environmental progress made in the previous four years.

In May of last year, solar panels were again placed on the roof of the White House by President Obama. Once again, the President is hoping to lead by example and show how that there are alternatives to our dependence on foreign oil. Although this is just a small step, it shows the positive environmental stance of the Obama administration and their support for renewable energy. Hopefully, this time the solar panels will be there to stay.