Design is everywhere in our lives, perhaps most importantly in the places where we've just stopped noticing. 99% Invisible is a weekly exploration of the process and power of design and architecture. From award winning producer Roman Mars. Learn more at 99percentinvisible.org.
100 Objects #24: White House Solar Panels
In 1979, President Jimmy Carter took to the roof of the White House to announce the installation of 32 solar panels. In that speech, he outlined all the things that they could become: a curiosity, a museum piece, one of our nation's most potent and enduring symbols of a road not taken, or the start of a great adventure. They would become all but the last of those things…but why? Journalist and environmental activist Bill McKibben takes Roman Mars through the story of how a president showed the American people a powerful new technology promising abundant cheap energy and why Americans shrugged.
A History of the United States in 100 Objects is a production of 99% Invisible and BBC Studios.
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