Back to the Future: Solar Panels to Return to White House

In 1979, at the height of the energy crisis, President Jimmy Carter installed 32 solar panels atop the West Wing of the White House to great fanfare. They were removed by the Reagan administration in 1986.

Today the Obama administration announced it would be bringing solar back to the White House next spring spearheading a push to promote solar energy. This time the panels will be located on the White House residence.

Not surprisingly, partisan critics are comparing President Obama to Carter for his move back to solar. The problem: they fail to criticize to George W. Bush as well. "In 2003, President George W. Bush quietly installed a series of three solar systems on the White House grounds, including panels on the pool cabana to help with water heating." The hard cold truth is that the development of green energy and energy independence is not a partisan issue, or at least it shouldn't be.