Michael Vick’s new clean life will be powered by clean energy.Photo: Ed YourdonIt’s all over the interwebs that President Obama called Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeff Lurie this week, giving him props for letting star quarterback Michael Vick return to the team after doing 19 months in the slammer for a dog-fighting conviction.
But clean energy was supposedly the reason for the call: A White House spokesperson told The Huffington Post that patting Lurie on the back for using alternative energy to power Lincoln Financial Field was “the nexus of the call.”
Eagles plan to use solar and wind: Last month, Lurie announced the stadium would be entirely powered by solar power, wind power, and cogeneration. Installation of 80 wind turbines, 2,500 solar panels, and a small cogen plant is supposed to be done by September 2011, according to the Associated Press.
Some are skeptical of Obama’s motives: “[Obama] asked some questions about the Eagles’ plans to use alternative-energy sources to power the stadium. Now the White House is spinning the call as the sort of everyday inquiry the president makes into eco-friendly architecture,” writes Ezra Klein. Klein says the prez should stand behind his beliefs in rehabilitating prisoners, if that’s what the call was really about — not try to shift the focus to less-inflammatory energy issues.
Animal lovers remain pissed: Clean energy aside, some think Vick’s career should be vaporized. “He was wantonly cruel, not only pitting dogs against one another in fights, but drowning poor performers,” says Washington Post blogger Richard Cohen.
