skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Solar Energy Returns To The White House

play audio
Play

Wednesday, October 6, 2010   

BOULDER, Colo. - The U. S. Department of Energy says by next spring, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue will have an array of solar panels on its roof as a demonstration project showing solar energy's reliability and availability. Acting Under Secretary for Energy Cathy Zoi says the First Family's residence will benefit.

"A photovoltaic system, which converts sunlight directly into electricity to help power things in the White House itself, and then a solar hot water system for the water-heating needs, like showers and stuff."

Presidents Carter and George W. Bush installed White House solar systems, Bush's were on the maintenance building; the Carter-era panels were removed during 1986 roof repairs. One of them was brought to the White House last month by solar activists in an effort to prod the Obama administration to take the action it has finally announced.

Seth Masia of the Boulder-based American Solar Energy Society says his organization's polling over the past 15 years shows roughly 75 percent of the American public understands solar energy and wants to see it developed. So, he says, this has more than just symbolic value.

"This isn't even of great educational value, because people already understand the technology. The point is to save the government some money. I mean, heating your water with the sun is free."

The White House solar panels are both symbolic and practical, says Zoi.

"Solar technologies have matured and they're being installed all over America. And I think the President and the First Lady feel like they're going to do at their house what a lot of other people in America are doing at their own homes."

She adds the companies eligible to bid on the project are all in the United States, and the panels will be made in America.



get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021