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The carbon footprint of Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration is likely to be huge as millions of people travel to see it — but at least the new president will know that his own footprints will be on a “green” recycled carpet.
However, with an estimated 4 million people descending on Washington, some express doubt that the steps Inaugural planners are taking, including recycling the manure from horses walking in the parade, will be enough.
“Everybody wants to be part of history, but as a result you’re going to have people flying in on their private jets, limousines and SUVs cruising around Washington, D.C. keeping everybody warm, and that’s going to have a big carbon footprint,” said Brian Darling, director of U.S. Senate Relations at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.
“For people to make believe that somehow they’re making this a carbon-friendly Inauguration is really just a joke. If they really care that much about the environment, they would not have these millions of people coming to Washington, D.C.”
But the Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) is trying to be as green as possible, including a plan to scoop up all of the manure from the horses in the parade and sell it to a nearby farm.
“We’re committed to holding an Inauguration that isn’t just the most open and accessible in modern history, but also as environmentally friendly and sustainable as possible,” said Kevin Griffis, a spokesman for the PIC.
The PIC has planned to have 6,000 volunteers pick up recycling along the National Mall and the parade route after the day’s events.
And for the first time in history, the next American president is set to take the oath of office on a recycled, solid-blue carpet.
Obama will also walk from the bottom of the U.S. Capitol’s Rotunda steps to the West Front podium on an environmentally friendly carpet runner.
The recyclable carpet on the platform was installed Tuesday along with the runner, which has a blue center and red borders. They will extend about 725 square yards and were made by employees of the Chief Administrative Office (CAO).
Few previous presidential inaugurations have attempted to take such environmentally friendly steps. But the Chief Administrative Officer, who is appointed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), has been working to reduce the Capitol’s carbon emissions as part of the “Green the Capitol” project for the past year.
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