Greening the White House

Michelle Obama’s organic vegetable garden is only part of the new administration’s push to green the White House. For the last two months, a White House spokesman told Green Inc., the housekeeping staff has begun using greener cleaning products at the complex, and groundskeepers and engineers have been asked to do the same. Recycling is now in place in both the East and West wings, and includes newspapers, magazines, glass, aluminum and plastics. Staff are working with the General Services Administration to make further improvements around the complex. White House drinking fountains — which presumably create an awkward angle for filling up reuseable bottles — are also being upgraded to make that process easier. And the Obama girls’ swing set was also carefully selected for its green attributes — including recycled, shredded tires (1,400 of them), as well as nontoxic dyes. And the wood, of course, is made in America. There is no word on solar panels yet — something that plenty of people in the industry are rooting for. Solar at the White House has a roller-coaster history: Jimmy Carter put panels on the roof, and Ronald Reagan took them off...NY Times

Nice to see recycling, handier water fountains, and green swings for the girls...but what is the carbon footprint of those 500 staff accompanying Obama to the G-20 meeting?