Al Gore: Hero or Hypocrite?

[Phlegmak]

Let's not forget:

George W Bush is a complete hypocrite when it comes to the environment.

He promotes dirty energy solutions, yet his home is very ecologically sound.

I just felt like adding that for no reason.

I bet he is still consuming far less than say Bush. What say you?

I have no clue how much energy Bush consumes. However, his ranch in Texas is a green-energy-proponent's dream. It's very strange, considering how much he promotes coal.

 

[GenMarshall]

Let's not forget:

George W Bush is a complete hypocrite when it comes to the environment. He promotes dirty energy solutions, yet his home is very ecologically sound.

I just felt like adding that for no reason.

Well, they are juicy details about Bush anyway . Who's more of a hypocrite in the enviorment. George W. Bush hands down.

 

[JollyRoger]

Let's not forget:

George W Bush is a complete hypocrite when it comes to the environment.

He promotes dirty energy solutions, yet his home is very ecologically sound.

I just felt like adding that for no reason.

Actually, Bush claims we are addicted to oil, yet he and his family probably consume much more in the way of carbon-based resources than even Al Gore and his family.

 

[CartesianFart]

Please, I dont care HOW many solar panels or light bulbs he puts in - the MAN IS STILL CONSUMING MORE THAN 20 AVG FAMILIES COMBINED. So WHAT if he saved x a year with cost efficient light bulbs?

Tell me,is a man as the likes of Al Gore "average" as compared to ordinary citizens such as the likes of us?Of course not!

 

[JollyRoger]

I have no clue how much energy Bush consumes. However, his ranch in Texas is a green-energy-proponent's dream. It's very strange, considering how much he promotes coal.

Gore's farm is green. The comparison would be between Gore's mansion and the President's current residence.

 

[Scuffer]

You cant honestly believe this can you? Are you trying to tell me that his $30k a year bill is justified since he takes steps to keep the footprint down from what could be a $45k a year bill?

You are confusing saving money with reducing carbin emissions. The two are not the same.

I could spend 5k heating my home with wood from a sustainable forest. Or I could spend 3k on heating it from a coal power station

Equally, I could spend a billion heating my home by burning bank notes, as a fairly silly example.

 

[Smidlee]

This reminds me of what V.Mcgee said on his radio program that back in the 70's about a butch of hippies got together to have Earth Day at a park (in Cal) preaching to save the earth. Afterwards the city had to spend thousands to clean up their mess they left behind in the park.

 

[Taliesin]

MobBoss, I don't think you understand the concept of carbon offsets. Gore could personally consume energy resources at a rate to rival a small country's, and if he bought enough offsets, he would still have a net positive effect on the global emissions problem.

By paying to subsidise somebody else's reduced carbon emissions, he would negate any externalities created by his own consumption. If such is the case, then Gore is effectively running his house on $30K of green energy, even if the electricity that actually powers his house comes from burning coal.

 

[MobBoss]

Or do you want to discuss gay preachers?

I bet he is still consuming far less than say Bush. What say you?

Most defenately agree. Plus MobBoss has to put in his monthly "Bash The Liberal" thread .

Careful, he will turn the tables against you and saying that youre in denial and all that crap

MobBoss? Defending a liberal?! That will be the day .

Let's not forget:

George W Bush is a complete hypocrite when it comes to the environment.

He promotes dirty energy solutions, yet his home is very ecologically sound.

I just felt like adding that for no reason.

I have no clue how much energy Bush consumes. However, his ranch in Texas is a green-energy-proponent's dream. It's very strange, considering how much he promotes coal.

Well, they are juicy details about Bush anyway . Who's more of a hypocrite in the enviorment. George W. Bush hands down.

Actually, Bush claims we are addicted to oil, yet he and his family probably consume much more in the way of carbon-based resources than even Al Gore and his family.

Ok, all of the above are OFF-TOPIC. Lets keep it ON-TOPIC please. And lets do please keep the trolls out of the thread. Keep it about Gore and his hypocrisy or lack thereof.

Also, if people want to discuss the merits (or lack thereof) of perceived energy off-sets that would be ok as well. Personally, I dont think it possible in the USA right now to get 100% of your energy from non-polluting sources to that extent. We just currently are not equipped to take that much advantage of it.

Moderator Action: Please recognise that it is not your role to moderate threads.

A reported post will suffice.
Please read the forum rules: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=422889

 

[Scuffer]

Personally, I dont think it possible in the USA right now to get 100% of your energy from non-polluting sources to that extent. We just currently are not equipped to take that much advantage of it.

Then surely you should be praising Gore for doing his best to promote it

 

[Fugitive Sisyphus]

Hypocrite, anyway hypocrite and politician are synonymous.

 

[Irish Caesar]

Solar cells, under our current technology, consume more fossil fuels to produce than they save during their lifetime.

And personally, I don't really care what Mr. Gore is doing with his house.

 

[GenMarshall]

Keep it about Gore and his hypocrisy or lack thereof.

Well you did attacked someone from the Democratic Party and the Liberal Spectrum just because he bought carbon offsets, what would you expect? The liberals to chuck tomatoes at Gore and give Bush a ticker tape parade? I don't think so.

I dont think it possible in the USA right now to get 100% of your energy from non-polluting sources to that extent. We just currently are not equipped to take that much advantage of it.

Well, its possible right now to get most of our energy from non-polluting sources. Including the use of Nuclear Power (Provided that they are built and operated under strict guidelines). If we didn't waste our time protesting aganst Nuclear Power and devoted more time in researching a safer reactors or researching Fusion Power. What about OTHER methods, Solar Power is feasible in the American Midwest and the South.

 

[JollyRoger]

Ok, all of the above are OFF-TOPIC. Lets keep it ON-TOPIC please. And lets do please keep the trolls out of the thread. Keep it about Gore and his hypocrisy or lack thereof.

The question posed by the thread is whether Gore is a hero or a hypocrite. Pointing out that he is heroically using less energy and leaving less of a carbon footprint that some hypocrite in Washingtion who scolds us about being addicted to oil fits within the thread's question.

If you just wanted to limit discussion his potential hypocrisy, maybe you should ask the mods to change your thread title.

EDIT: And considering the relatively high percentage of of responses that you think are trollish, do you think you may need to consider whether the the thread title, wording of the poll, political nature of the topic, and your very selective editing of the opening source might be contibuting to this problem? If you can't take the normal range of responses that such a charged opening generates, maybe you should consider a milder opening move in the future.

 

[Smidlee]

It just politics. Just like when a politician preach "let's give to the poor" they are not including themselves. They believe if they force everyone else to give by raising your taxes it's the same as them giving. (Hollywood Stars thinks this way too) And since they are giving so much they turn around and give themselves a pay raise.

So Gore is just a politician; nothing more or less.

 

[Pontiuth Pilate]

I am fully aware that he purchases it and still outuses more than 20 avg families.

Lets put it this way, if you say you can eat everything within sight because its all 'healthy' food you will still end up obese. There is a point where you can consume so much lo-cal food as to out-calorie the high-cal stuff you decry.

Thats what we see here. Al Gore effectively consumes SO MUCH energy it utterly removes any offsets he has.

No, not all of it.

Come on...you cant honestly believe that...Not all of Gores energy consumption is green.

I dont think this is deliberate misinformation at all, but just some of the simple facts surrounding Al Gore himself.

Looks like you don't clearly understand the concept of offsets.

Yeah, Gore consumes a lot of energy. He then turns around and matches it dollar-for-dollar by buying services that are guaranteed to remove carbon from the atmosphere (like tree-planting or funding alternative energy research). He's voluntarily paying twice his energy bill each year, to null out his contribution to warming.

It's not the best way to help the environment (better to just not consume at all) but in effect, Al Gore's net contribution to global warming is smaller than yours. And, by consuming so much energy, he's upping the dollar-for-dollar amount he pays into offsets. So, indirectly, by consuming so much, he's channeling money into alternative energy research

So, yeah, it's a hitpiece. I vote hero.

EDIT

Personally, I dont think it possible in the USA right now to get 100% of your energy from non-polluting sources to that extent.

That's not what "carbon offsetting" is. Look it up on the wiki.

 

[shmily_dana]

This reminds me of an ex-girl friend of mine. She would drive to the grocery store every day to get food. But she complained about SUVs. I'd tell her making multiple trips was wasteful also. She just never figured it out.

She was against the first gulf war, so I know she was out protesting the current war. But I imagine her driving out to get the poster board and going home, and driving out to get a marker and going back home. Then driving to the protest to say "no blood for oil". Then breaking for lunch and driving somewhere to get something she likes. Then back to the protest. She would make her self feel good by recycling the poster board. (I'm basing this on several actual times she did exactly something like this.)

ps I recycle and we are converting to the new light bulbs. I always insist that we do multiple errands in the minivan. We take care in setting the thermostat. We're not perfect, but we're not bragging.

 

[jameson]

This press release raises a few questions, such as how does Mr. Gore's raw energy use stack up against the average in his state (and its climate) ? If his house is bigger than the average house, how much extra energy does his home consume in relative terms? Should people be required to take a vow of poverty if they're going to preach conservation ?
Also, how did his energy bill end up in the hands of some obscure 'think tank' ? Why does this 'think tank' not discuss the merits or lack thereof of Gore's purchasing of carbon offsets to compensate for his energy consumption ? Is that 'fair and balanced' ? Why exactly was this press release published the day after Mr. Gore's documentary won an Oscar?

And most importantly, why does Mr. Gore's energy consumption in his home in Tennesse even matter when the case he makes in 'An Inconvenent Truth' is supported by literally hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific articles assessing the evidence of man-made climate change ?

 

[ComradeDavo]

Mobboss: what you might not realise (and I think the author you quoted has chosen to ignore) is that Al Gore has purchased carbon offsets. In practical terms, all of his energy is from green energy sources. This means that, no matter how much he consumes, he's not part of the greenhouse gas problem. In fact, his excessive consumption is probably helping push the market for green technologies.

The article is an attempt at a hitjob, by avoiding some facts. Note the timing on the release.

You've been tricked. You can now choose whether to be part of the 'deliberate misinformation' problem, or not. I wonder if you'll defend the man when this topic is brought up?

Excellent post

 

[Pontiuth Pilate]

By the way, I do know a family that's covered their roof with solar panels. Over the period of each year, they actually have a net income from selling electricity back to the grid. They also have an electric car. And some fancy thermal thing where they pump water to the roof to be sunheated to warm their house at night.

It was a VERY expensive investment but in 7 years they made it back and now they're making money from it. Obviously not for everyone - they live in the Silicon Valley where it's sunny (more power) and urban (less driving) - but it does prove MobBoss wrong. You can live a pretty green life if you try.