Super Eco

Photo credit: The White House/Joyce N. Boghosian

The White House isn't so pallid white anymore, in all the very best ways—and none so inspiring to us here at Super Eco as its green initiatives. President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and the first family are very much walking the talk when it comes to taking care of the hearth of the nation in an eco-friendly, sustainable way. Now, the Obamas are taking aim at LEED certification for the White House itself. As the Green Guide reports:

According to government officials familiar with greening efforts, the Obama White House intends to be the first White House to earn LEED certification, a system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to measure and reward buildings and communities that implement green building design, construction, operations, and maintenance.

“LEED certification of the White House is absolutely possible and viable,” said Rick Fedrizzi, CEO and president of USGBC, which has offered to help advise the White House on the process. However, Fedrizzi noted, it will not be easy because of the building’s historic status and the security required to protect the President and his family.

“A normal building is already a challenging assignment, and this is something that’s a historic structure, one of [the] nation’s most historic structures,” he says.

Here's something you may not realize: the Obamas didn't have to start from scratch to paint the White House a deeper shade of green. What the Obamas bring, though, is the interest, energy and fresh new faces it takes to color the White House and its activities a greener shade of sustainable.

• Victory for a White House garden
• The first garden: A fertile source of green ideas
• The first soil: Dirty business at the White House
• New White House chef is a lunch revolutionary
• Group urges first family to eat it (homegrown organic food, that is)