Joined: Oct 25, 2004 Posts: 1331 Location: Stalag 13
Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 7:49 am Post subject: Gore’s home guzzles even more energy after green renovations
Gore’s personal electricity consumption up 10%, despite “energy-efficient” home renovations
Quote:
In the year since Al Gore took steps to make his home more energy-efficient, the former Vice President’s home energy use surged more than 10%, according to the Tennessee Center for Policy Research.
“A man’s commitment to his beliefs is best measured by what he does behind the closed doors of his own home,” said Drew Johnson, President of the Tennessee Center for Policy Research. “Al Gore is a hypocrite and a fraud when it comes to his commitment to the environment, judging by his home energy consumption.”
In the past year, Gore’s home burned through 213,210 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, enough to power 232 average American households for a month.
In February 2007, An Inconvenient Truth, a film based on a climate change speech developed by Gore, won an Academy Award for best documentary feature. The next day, the Tennessee Center for Policy Research uncovered that Gore’s Nashville home guzzled 20 times more electricity than the average American household.
After the Tennessee Center for Policy Research exposed Gore’s massive home energy use, the former Vice President scurried to make his home more energy-efficient. Despite adding solar panels, installing a geothermal system, replacing existing light bulbs with more efficient models, and overhauling the home’s windows and ductwork, Gore now consumes more electricity than before the “green” overhaul.
Since taking steps to make his home more environmentally-friendly last June, Gore devours an average of 17,768 kWh per month –1,638 kWh more energy per month than before the renovations – at a cost of $16,533. By comparison, the average American household consumes 11,040 kWh in an entire year, according to the Energy Information Administration.
"In the past year, Gore’s home burned through 213,210 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, enough to power 232 average American households for a month."
I am so sick of conservationist hypocrite posers. And Gore is the king of them all. _________________ Now why didn't I think of that?
Last edited by Hogan on Wed Jun 18, 2008 7:52 am; edited 1 time in total
Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 7:51 am Post subject: Re: Gore’s home guzzles even more energy after green renovat
Jevon in action. _________________ "So while you sit and whistle Dixie with your money and your power.
I can hear the flowers a-growin in the rubble of the towers.
I hear leaders quit their lying
I hear babies quit their crying.
I hear soldiers quit their dying, one and all." - OCMS
Joined: Aug 14, 2007 Posts: 247 Location: Montreal Canada
Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 8:01 am Post subject: Re: Gore’s home guzzles even more energy after green renovat
Al Gore is that guy who is spending big bucks on big houses , driving big nice cars and flies every day in a jet engine airplane? No way, he cares too much about the planet to do that! [/sarcasm]
Joined: Oct 25, 2004 Posts: 1331 Location: Stalag 13
Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 8:04 am Post subject: Re: Gore’s home guzzles even more energy after green renovat
So much for food conservation...
Living fat and happy while telling the rest of the world to cut back. _________________ Now why didn't I think of that?
Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 8:35 am Post subject: Re: Gore’s home guzzles even more energy after green renovat
Gores' done a good job of Rearranging deck chairs on the good ship Industrial Civilization. _________________ "One minute I held the key, next the walls were closed on me, and I discovered that my castle stands upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand."
Joined: Sep 29, 2004 Posts: 2330 Location: Pennsylvania, USA
Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 8:51 am Post subject: Re: Gore’s home guzzles even more energy after green renovat
Gore reminds me of the rich environmentalist/hippy from the sixties. He talks out of both sides of his mouth. I hate to do it, but I'll use a quote from GWB. Regarding increasing taxes, Bush made a funny but true comment saying that if you want higher taxes, the IRS has no problem with you overpaying your current taxes. In fact, the IRS will gladly accept any extra donations without any problem whatsoever. The moral of the story is that you have to put your money where your mouth is. Most all people who "want" higher taxes are talking about other people's taxes, not their own. It's the same with other things that people scold other people about. If you are preaching environmentalism 24/7, but live like every other rich person; consuming as much as possible, then you are a hypocrite. _________________ "That's the problem with mercy, kid... It just ain't professional" - Fast Eddie, The Color of Money
Joined: Apr 16, 2008 Posts: 120 Location: Western PA, USA
Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:16 am Post subject: Re: Gore’s home guzzles even more energy after green renovat
Not to defend the man, but what would his energy use be by use per square foot. Considering he has such a large house compared to most Americans, would it not be more appropriate to compare the average American's home energy use per square foot to that of Al Gore's use to see just how much of an "energy hog" Al Gore really is?
Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:16 am Post subject: Re: Gore’s home guzzles even more energy after green renovat
His electric bill went up primarily because of replacing furnaces with heat pumps. I'm betting his natural gas bill went down substantially.
Of course, my 2-person bungalow uses about 1/42nd of Al's house in electricity (i.e., less than half the national average). On another thread, we found several PO members who use even less.
Sadly, though, Al would be mercilessly mocked if he took the Jerry Brown/Ralph Nader approach and demonstrated real energy efficiency. As much as I'd love to see Al and Tipper hanging clothes on a clothesline, Jay Leno wouldn't stop razzing him on it.
The fluorescent bulb thing is acceptable, because that involved *buying* something. Clotheslines/bikes/transit are not acceptable to most, because they involve *doing* something. _________________ At 1% annual growth, human bodies will incorporate every gram in the observable universe in approximately 10,170 years.
Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:23 am Post subject: Re: Gore’s home guzzles even more energy after green renovat
Reminds me of the Kennedy that was on Hannity and Combs. He was touting small cars and houses and cutting back for everyone. When nailed down, he admitted to having 3 homes and flying private jets to his appearances. And to having 3 SUV's etc.
His excuse was that he NEEDS those things as opposed to the masses. He said if you NEED them they areokay to have.
Al is the same, he flies all over the globe bullshitting and making money off the green movement and consumes millions of times more energy than I will ever use. BUT HE NEEDS it. See the difference?
I laugh at the movie stars driving a prius and having 3 homes or 40,000 sq ft homes at the same time, flying all over the world etc. Its so disgusting but the media never calls them on it. OH NO, dont touch the stars. John Travolta has 5 jets and preaches conservation to ME. Get out of here.
Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:26 am Post subject: Re: Gore’s home guzzles even more energy after green renovat
Kingcoal wrote:
Bush made a funny but true comment saying that if you want higher taxes, the IRS has no problem with you overpaying your current taxes. In fact, the IRS will gladly accept any extra donations without any problem whatsoever. The moral of the story is that you have to put your money where your mouth is.
This is dumb. No one wants higher taxes for the sake of higher taxes. They want better funding for needed govt programs. It's just the kind of idiotic sarcasm you'd expect from GWB. Stop talking about the amount of taxation, and start talking about how it's spent.
On topic: First of all, I question the source, it's an obvious hit-piece using Gore's hypocrisy, real or imagined, as being in some way relevant to the scientific question of Global Warming - what they can't do by fake science, they do by smears. It's really farking pathetic. Regardless, this is a perfect time to bring up the difference between conservation and "energy efficiency" these days code-named "Green." This has nothing to do with the former.
Gore may have made the same mistake that millions of well meaning consumers who want to "do something" to mitigate this overwhelming, heartbreaking disaster we find ourselves in the middle of, but who are too caught up in the middle of it to really help anything. That is, they accept the "green" sales pitch. It isn't hypocrisy so much as wishful thinking. They hope buying green will save the planet in the same way they hoped buying the Abdominizer would give them a six-pack. What's farking depressing is that there are a million opportunists just waiting to slap the "green" label on whatever piece of throwaway trash on some flimsy pretext that it is "recyleABLE" or something. The construction and building industry is awash with this kind of branding these days.
Energy efficiency means switching out your lightbulbs for fluorescents. Conservation means turning off your lights. You can't buy conservation and so it never makes the Style Section. And you can thank the "wisdom of the market" for that. There is a fundamental difference between the two, which can be explained in one sentence.
Jevon's law applies to efficiency, not conservation.
By the way, the above comment that this is Jevons in action is mistaken. This has nothing to do with Jevons. This has to do with marketing.
edit: for the record - i would never actually write the word "farking" - the site seems to like to change the standard term into its TV friendly code version... too bad, it's such a good word.
Last edited by aflurry on Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:34 am; edited 1 time in total
Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:27 am Post subject: Re: Gore’s home guzzles even more energy after green renovat
Al Gore - The man who put the "douche" in "douche bag." _________________ Massive Human Dieoff must occur as a result of Peak Oil. Many more than half will die. It will occur everywhere, including where you live. If you fail to recognize this, then your odds of living move toward the "going to die" group.
Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:29 am Post subject: Re: Gore’s home guzzles even more energy after green renovat
joelcolorado wrote:
I laugh at the movie stars driving a prius and having 3 homes or 40,000 sq ft homes at the same time, flying all over the world etc. Its so disgusting but the media never calls them on it. OH NO, dont touch the stars. John Travolta has 5 jets and preaches conservation to ME. Get out of here.
Why would you expect the media to call them on it? They get their checks cut by the same people. The movie star nonsense is just noise. It doesn't cancel out the actual real life need for conservation.
Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:30 am Post subject: Re: Gore’s home guzzles even more energy after green renovat
You cannot defend Als multiple homes nor his jet setting around the world on private jets. Nor his making $100 million so far on his GREEN investments. Those are facts and he admits to them.
Its like the rich evangellist begging for money for the poor and sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars. Hypocrisy at any level smells to high heaven
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