Obama’s green inauguration

Barack Obama’s election is all about colour – just not of the skin.  

President-elect Obama is doing everything he can to ensure people associate him with the colour green.  21 years after President George Bush (the first one) said he wanted to be known as “the environmental president,” America’s next head of state is using his inauguration to do just that.  

From walking to his swearing-in ceremony on a recycled carpet, to collecting manure from mounted police (the horses, not the policemen), to distributing recycling bins around metropolitan Washington, DC, an attempt is being made to render the ceremonies as environmentally-friendly as possible.  

One of the most important (and for Beltway insiders, most-anticipated) events of a presidential inauguration is the ball.  Well, technically that’s inaccurate – there’s almost always more than one ball.  At least two of Obama’s have been designated “green.”  

The Green Inaugural ball, Maximum Celebration, Minimum Impact, is hosted by Planet Green and R & B star Wyclef Jean, is designed to have a minimal impact. Located a block from a Metro station, the Green Inaugural Ball will be serving organic and local food and lit by low-wattage LEDs. 

Al Gore, who has some enviro-credibility of his own, is also hosting a Green Ball at the Smithsonian.   Fittingly, Gore’s event is perhaps more cerebral – invitees include more than two dozen ecological and environmental coalitions, all encouraged to “celebrate a commitment to growing the New Green Economy.”

It’s often been said that inaugurations set the tone for the presidency. President George W. Bush’s first inauguration was marred by frigid weather and loud protesters. A few dour presidents even cancelled everything other than the swearing-in ceremony itself.  

Obama is trying very hard to paint his nascent administration in shades of green.  Time will tell whether this is prescient or just another gesture.