Moms to Michelle Obama: Go Solar

A bit of green delight crept up my spine when I read this week in the Mercury News that the proposed  San Francisco 49ers stadium in the city of Santa Clara will be glistening with solar panels and a plant covered living roof, if all goes according to plan.  This on top of news that Santa Clara, the county that covers Silicon Valley and beyond -  also scored highest in a recent tally of domestic and business solar panel adoption in the Golden State. Our green mayor  Chuck Reed must be proud.This green thing is really catching on! Fantastic - I say.

But I wonder why things are moving so slowly in DC? Having shared the nation's - and even the world's delight at Michelle Obama's organic harvest last month, I'm now wondering why she's stopping there? Are there perhaps plans afoot to reinstate Jimmy Carter's 70's style solar panels (torn down by Ronald Reagan) with some new state of the art, high efficiency thin film panels? Sadly I don't have Michelle on my speed dial, so can't confirm this wishful thinking. If I did though, I'd ask her: why wait?

Barack Obama, Timothy Geithner et al are busy dispensing the billions in stimulus money as quickly as they possibly can, but due diligence takes time. So why not include a relatively small outlay to make the White House roof as "green" as its garden? It could glisten with silicon. Just think what a great stimulus that would be for the solar power industry, and the economy? Think of all the green collar jobs for installers....

If Michelle Obama goes solar, just imagine all those moms around the world who follow every move she makes...every mid-air wardrobe change (!), every visit to the Pope, every romantic dinner out on the town? I'm a mother who thinks, but all this stuff is still somehow compelling. If she goes solar, I'd bet my Prius Hybrid that it will lead to a stampede to solar.

And won't that be a very good green thing for The First Mother, not to mention Mother Earth?

Go on Michelle: Go Solar!

This is an original post for Silicon Valley Moms. Alison is host of Fresh Dialogues,an online radio show featuring all things green. Recent interviews include legendary green venture capitalist Vinod Khosla and visionary award winner Judy Estrin. Alison was recently profiled in a column by Mike Cassidy on the front page of the San Jose Mercury News, Business Section.