AP - President-elect Barack Obama has said in an interview that he hopes to make the White House environmentally friendly, and encouraged fellow Americans to follow suit.

"Part of what I want to do is to show the American people that it's not that hard," Mr. Obama told ABC television on Wednesday.

Mr. Obama identified a couple of easy, everyday ways people can help make their home a greener place — turning off lights, unplugging chargers for electrical devices when not in use.

Showing he may be the first US president to embrace the green movement at home since Jimmy Carter put solar panels on the White House roof, Mr. Obama said he intends to confer with the chief usher about the building's energy efficiency.

Asked whether he would be tiptoeing around at night turning off the lights, Mr. Obama admitted although he does just that in his current Chicago residence, he was "not going to be obsessive about it." Mr. Obama, who spoke with ABC's Barbara Walters alongside his wife Michelle, also acknowledged the overwhelming interest in the dog he intends to get for his daughters.

The subject has been a hot topic ever since Mr. Obama mentioned in his triumphant election night speech that his daughters "deserve the new puppy" the family will get when they move to the White House.

Mr. Obama said he was getting more canine-related advice "than my economic policies, no doubt about it." He also said the children will have to deal with the messy side of owning a pet.

"Scoop the poop. We've been talking to them about that," he said. "We don't want litter on the White House lawns. They're going to have to do their job."