Dear Washingtonian,

There’s an old solar panel sitting idle in the basement of the main CCAN office in Takoma Park, Maryland. It’s a relic, having once rested on the roof of the White House under Jimmy Carter. Ronald Reagan took the panel down in 1981 and it traveled north for use at Unity College in Maine for years. But then in October 2010, CCAN along with our friends at 350.org and Unity College, tried to give the solar panel back to the White House of Barack Obama. “Go solar now!” we told White House officials. “And show your support for climate solutions.”

Obama’s people told us to keep the Carter-era panel (so it went into the CCAN basement for storage) because – we were told – there would be brand new solar panels installed atop the President’s house by “the end of spring” 2011. We were thrilled. The President would be an example to the world. But unfortunately, June 21st is the official end of spring and – guess what – there are still no solar panels on the White House roof.  

Despite Obama's seeming reluctance to go solar, many more DC homes could be sporting solar panel on their roofs in the near future! Distributed Generation Act 19-10 recently passed its first reading in the DC City Council. This legislation will require utility companies to purchase their renewable energy from generation right here in the District, rather than elsewhere. Estimates show that this could create 2,000 green jobs in the District, raise $150 million in tax revenues, and prevent as much pollution equivalent as taking 200,000 cars of the streets of D.C. As the bill approaches a final vote, please pledge your support by signing this petition!

If Washingtonians can do it, President Obama should be able to make a modest commitment by solarizing his roof too, shouldn't he? Click here send a letter to President Barack Obama about this issue. Ask him to keep his promise and solarize the White House roof next week! That way CCAN can pack up our relic solar panel in the basement and give it back to students at Unity College in Maine, no longer needing to keep it in DC as a reminder to the White House to do better.

Best,
Mike Tidwell