Al Gore’s Personal Energy Use Is His Own “Inconvenient Truth”
February 26th, 2007To anyone out there who still doesn’t understand the limousine liberal scam…
Via: tennesseepolicy.org:
Last night, Al Gore’s global-warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, collected an Oscar for best documentary feature, but the Tennessee Center for Policy Research has found that Gore deserves a gold statue for hypocrisy.
Gore’s mansion, located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES).
In his documentary, the former Vice President calls on Americans to conserve energy by reducing electricity consumption at home.
The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh—more than 20 times the national average.
Last August alone, Gore burned through 22,619 kWh—guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year. As a result of his energy consumption, Gore’s average monthly electric bill topped $1,359.
Since the release of An Inconvenient Truth, Gore’s energy consumption has increased from an average of 16,200 kWh per month in 2005, to 18,400 kWh per month in 2006.
Gore’s extravagant energy use does not stop at his electric bill. Natural gas bills for Gore’s mansion and guest house averaged $1,080 per month last year.
“As the spokesman of choice for the global warming movement, Al Gore has to be willing to walk to walk, not just talk the talk, when it comes to home energy use,†said Tennessee Center for Policy Research President Drew Johnson.
In total, Gore paid nearly $30,000 in combined electricity and natural gas bills for his Nashville estate in 2006.
Related: Energy Scarcity vs. Cost of the War in Iraq
High power usage at the Gore “ranch?” Must be some really “high colonics” going on there. You know, filming the movie from the bunker re what caused the end of days for rich people to watch as they lounge in their survival bunkers. Al and Dick Cheney will toast and sing some bizarre underworld anthem and watch all the people die on the screen. Sick puppies abound.
Gore is a consumate politician. Talks the talk but does not do the walk. Take away the movie, and his microphone and he’s just another corporate shill. As defined by Webster’s – a shill is a person who poses as a customer in order to decoy others into participating , as at a gambling house, auction.” The pity I once felt about him “losing” to Bush by a Supreme’s judgement has been drowned by all I read about NAFTA, the rape of the environment, the genocide of Iraq and Kosovo that were caused by Clinton/Gore. Anyone who works in the federal government also curses Gore for the increase in the bureaucratic B.s. that goes down every year re “performance measures.” As Neil Young sings,”piece of crap.” All of it. So is Al Gore.
The article doesn’t provide any information about any carbon offsets used to compensate for this consumption. How can this critique be valid without an accurate calculation of the carbon footprint of the property? What is that… Ad Hominem or Strawman? I can never remember. Still, it doesn’t do much to support the anti-AGW side of the “debate”. Seems like a bilious smear to me.
HAHAHA! Carbon offsets?! That’s your argument?
You crackpots are worse than the Catholic church selling indulgences.
I didn’t really consider bringing up carbon offsets as an argument. I didn’t think I was debating anything. I was questioning the value of the article. Does propaganda serve any purpose but to misinform? While The Tennessee Center for Policy Research calls themselves nonpartisan, it was obvious that the aim of article linked to was to discredit Gore, thereby obfuscating the issue of Anthropogenic Climate Change. It calls into question the merits of the message Gore is trying to send. They are trying to create a sense of unreliability about the subject by associating it with manufactured hypocrisy.
While I agree that carbon offsets are not an ideal solution to emissions gone amok, they certainly do divert capital into renewable energy and associated R&D. Until hydrocarbons are phased out of our energy infrastructure, it seems like a positive alternative, at least in the short term, that will bolster the sustainable energy industry.
I can see the resemblance to Catholic indulgences though. One might question what the monetary value of one tonne of carbon or one venial sin is. The difference is that the quantity and the environmental effect of carbon is measurable and quantifiable. A soul, and the afterlife it will inhabit are not as tangible.
Just a question though… what flavour of crackpot are you painting me as? Was that just an offhand epithet, or have I actually betrayed some symptom of irrationality?
an excellent parody of “Carbon Offsets”
http://www.cheatneutral.com
Modern industrial civilization, as presently organized, is colliding violently with our planet’s ecological system. …. we must take bold and unequivocal action: we must make the rescue of the environment the central organizing principle for civilization.
— Al Gore, Jr., Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit
Sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul.
— Edward Abbey
I know I “went off” on Gore last night. Discussing many subjects tonight, a long time friend reminded me that Al Gore used to be a trail blazer in many ways on various issues before he hooked up with the Clinton’s. Without using up too much space here I’m going to recant my smear associating Gore with Cheney. Way too Harsh.
Friend Paula believes that Gore is working towards reclaiming who he really is after being used as a bar towel by the Clintons. Also, she thinks Tipper has lots of horses and has been using power to keep them warm during this strangely “normal” winter. Tipper, by the way, should never have gone after my hero Frank Zappa.
Kevin’s point that Al’s behavior is little more than a graphic illustration of “Do as I say, not as I do” is well made.
Hypocrisy apparently still knows no bounds.
Is anyone willing to consider the Al Gore article is a right-wing hit piece, like the Swift Boat Veterans?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-roberts/talking-points-on-the-gor_b_42335.html
# The Tennessee Tax Dept. does not consider the “Tennessee Center for Policy Research,” which roughly no one had heard of before this, a legitimate group. It’s run by a long-time right-wing attack hack, and its only registered address is a P.O. box. Why is everyone in the media taking what it says about Gore’s electricity use at face value?
# Gore’s electricity company has no record of being contacted about his bills.
# The “average” home electricity use quoted by TCPR is a national average that includes apartments and mobile homes. In Gore’s climatic zone, the East South Central (Dept. of Energy PDF), the average is much higher, thanks to hot, humid summers and cold winters. Within that zone, Gore’s usage is three (not 20) times average, and his per-square-foot usage is squarely average. (More here.)
# The Gores are not an average family. He’s an ex-VP with special security arrangements, and has live-in security staff. He and his wife both work on their many business and charitable undertakings out of their house, so they have space for offices and office staff. All that would be tough to cram in an average size house.
# Gore buys the maximum allowable green electricity from the program offered by his utility.
# Most of the electricity in TN comes from hydro and nuclear, and so doesn’t generate all that much CO2 anyway.