The goal: Expand the U.S. solar market, make the technology more affordable for average Americans, and encourage domestic producers in the face of foreign competition. If the ambitious plan is achieved, solar experts estimate such widespread use would generate as much electricity as three to five coal-fired plants and reduce pollution by an amount equal to the carbon emissions of 850,000 automobiles. Clinton administration officials hope relatively small initiatives such as this will help the U.S. meet the requirements of the proposed world environmental treaty forged early last month in Kyoto, Japan.
``It's one of these times in your life where you can have an impact on what can really be a historic shift,'' says Dreyfuss, who until this summer was toiling happily as a neighborhood and environmental activist in Kansas City, Mo.
``It's not going to happen tomorrow. We're not going to give up gasoline, or our oil, or our coal tomorrow. But we're moving in that direction.''
In terms of the Kyoto agreement, the President's solar initiative is more symbol than substance. The treaty would require the United States in the next 12 years to reduce carbon emissions by 6 percent to 7 percent below 1990 levels. Seeding the country with 1 million solar panels and solar cells would contribute only a small part toward that goal.
``It takes a lot more than just a bunch of gee-whiz programs,'' said Jonathan Adler, an environmental-policy analyst at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. ``It requires lifestyle changes.''
Others contend the federal government doesn't have a good record marketing technology and wonder how far the federal government should go in promoting the solar industry.
