HIGHTOWER: Clinton's Green-Gate
The Clinton White House has been immersed in File-gate, Paula Jones-gate and Lippo-gate . . . but what about ... Green-gate?It involves documents being shredded, dead flowers being spread in the White House garden and a power-company delivering a payment of $180,000 to the White House.What gives here? The environment.During the 1993 Earth Day celebrations, Bill Clinton said: "For as long as I live in the White House, I want Americans to see it as a symbol a clean environment."Well, Mother Jones magazine reports that the President's House has not done a half-bad job of coming clean environmentally. The old incandescent light bulbs have been replaced by compact flourescent lamps that use 75 times less energy. Clinton's Green-team also uncovered old skylights, bringing-in more light naturally than a hundred 60-watt bulbs provide. They cut winter heat-loss in half by installing double-pane windows in the old building. These and other steps cut energy costs by $150,000 a year . . . and resulted in the power company giving $180,000 in rebates to the White House.Instead of trashing the tons of waste-paper that flows through the presidential office, it is now shredded and sent-out to be recycled, and half of the paper they use has recycled content. Even Bill's jogging track is made from used tires and windshield wipers.Likewise, the yard trimmings and the dead flowers from the White House gardens and floral displays are all composted and worked-back into the gardens.There's no word yet on what Bill does with all those Big Mac wrappers he brings into the Oval office, but I think they'd make excellent paper for jotting memos to Newt Gingrich. Newt might not like the message, but I bet he'd lick those wrappers clean . . . and feel better about Bill.Source:"Executive flower pot" Mother Jones: January/February, 1997.
