Friedman: What if Reagan had kept Carter's rooftop solar panels? [View all]
By Thomas L. Friedman / The New York Times
In reflecting on Jimmy Carter’s death, my mind skipped to the Apple TV+ streaming series “For All Mankind,” an alternate-reality drama that imagines how the world might have been if it was the Soviets, not the Americans, who walked on the moon first during the Cold War space race.
The alternate reality I’d like to write is in honor of Carter: How would the world have been different had President Ronald Reagan not removed the solar panels that Carter had installed on the White House roof during his presidency with the aim of kick-starting the solar industry and inspiring Americans to adopt clean energy in the wake of the 1970s oil crisis and gas lines?
Carter and his family personally used those very basic solar panels. Roughly 3 yards long and 1 yard wide, they absorbed the sun’s rays and powered a water heater for their living quarters and the White House cafeteria.
Yes, Carter had his share of missteps, but he was way, way, way ahead of his time on clean energy. The man had a much richer imagination when it came to energy than he gets credit for. He was about a lot more than lowering the thermostat and hinting that Americans should put on a sweater.
https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/friedman-what-if-reagan-had-kept-carters-rooftop-solar-panels/
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