Clintons Turning White House ‘Green’ : Ecology: First Family makes official residence more energy-efficient, installs recycling bins.

Bill and Hillary Clinton want to leave an enduring legacy to the White House, and you can color it green.

That’s green, as in environmentally sound and energy-efficient and easier on the pocketbook.

As part of the effort the Clintons already have taken delivery of a super-efficient refrigerator touted as an energy and money saver.

And, for the first time, recycling bins have been installed in the White House residential quarters so glass and newspapers can be separated from the Clintons’ trash.

Planning is under way to reglaze the third-floor solarium, increasing window performance by as much as 85% and reducing the need for air conditioning.

Even the incandescent bulbs used in the table lamps in the President’s study have been scrutinized and found wanting. New and compact fluorescent bulbs are suggested to save energy and money.

Ornate Victorian skylights over stairwells in the Old Executive Office Building next to the White House are being scraped free of decades-old paint and cleaned of grime to bring daylight back into the center of the granite structure and reduce electric bills.

The Administration summed up the first phase of the effort as it issued an action plan titled, “The Greening of the White House.”

The goal is to cut energy consumption in the 18-acre executive complex by 30% by the year 2005 without reducing the comfort of those living and working there.

The “greening” report suggests improvements in heating and cooling systems, indoor air quality, water management and lighting.

The effort is being coordinated by a team of 100 architects, engineers, building managers and environmentalists. They aim to produce a package of improvements that could be a model for offices, stores and homes nationwide.

Clinton commissioned the enterprise last April 21 in an Earth Day address, saying, “I want to make the White House a model for other federal agencies, for state and local governments, for business and for families in their homes.”

“Before I ask you to do the best you can in your house, I ought to make sure I’m doing the best I can in my house,” he said.

Cathy Zoi, deputy director of the White House Office of Environmental Policy, said the Clintons regard the project as an important legacy.

“This could be their contribution to the White House as opposed to china or other things,” she said.