Spitzer and Polish

New York governor's mansion gets an eco-facelift

You know, we've been thinking about eco-remodeling our 39-room mansion, and now New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer and his wife Silda Wall Spitzer are providing inspiration. The couple plans to green the governor's residence in Albany, which was built in 1875 and has housed such luminaries as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Nelson A. Rockefeller. (Note to Eliot: get a middle initial, pronto.) The three-part plan encompasses new, energy-efficient appliances; hybrid vehicles and electric mowers; solar panels; compact fluorescent light bulbs; nontoxic cleaning supplies and organic pest control; composting; and organic produce. At a cost of $650,000 -- some of which will come from state grants available to any household willing to improve its energy efficiency -- the work is expected to cut the residence's power use and greenhouse-gas emissions in half. "I hope a green executive mansion will inspire others," said Wall Spitzer, who will increase tours that teach schoolchildren about conservation. We hope so too.