Al Gore's Hypocrisy -- His Very Inconvenient Utility Bill

ABC ^

[VeniVidiVici]

This self-serving nonsense of paying someone else to reduce your "carbon footprint" and calling yourself an environmentalist reminds me of people during the Civil War who paid some poor farmboy to go fight in their place and then called themselves patriots.

LOL! Awesome analogy!

[OpusatFR]

Just make sure the Gorebot pays you the going rate for his carbon offset to ride your bike to work, wash off at the village pump, and cook on your wok.

So IOW, the rich will be able to squander every bit of fuel on the planet as long as they pay you to live like chinese peasants.

I see how that works...

[engrpat]

I see that the press is going after Gore and several of the other leaders of the Global Warming group. I think the reason the MSM is doing this is that they are like the true believers of Islam...they hate those that don't believe as strongly as they do. They see in their leaders less than a solid commitment to the new faith. Tells you where both are coming from, one from a true belief of the new faith and those that only talk the talk. Could get to be fun to watch.

[VeniVidiVici]

Stock up. I believe glaciers have covered your area many times over the past few hundred thousand years or so. You may get stranded.

True conservationists don't have to worry about "talking the talk" or "walking the walk". They practice what they preach everyday.

It takes a true hypocrite to turn a profit off of scare mongering that the world going to hell due to humans, and then returning to one's 20,000 sq ft home that costs $30,000 a year to power.

What a fraud.

[OpusatFR]

"How much electricity he uses shouldn't be a factor. How it's produced and where it comes from are far more relevant concerns."

How much he uses is a factor. He is asking people to live green while not reducing his usage, nor reducing his use/demand for production and the products produced to support his lifestyle and that of his family. His consumption of everything produced be it clothes, food, consumer goods, transportation, and the myriad of things that his family uses in excess because of their demand is not reduced and it is that demand causes depletion.

The wealthy are rich enough to pay you to live less with carbon offsets while they still use the same amount of production which accomplishes nothing in the way of reducing pollution, waste and depletion.

I live as simply as possible. I'm not a socialist by any means, but as long the wealthy are telling others to reduce consumption, they need to do so also.

They can't continue an extravagant lifestyle of the elite living in luxury while the prolls are exhorted to live on a much lower scale of subsistence so that everyone is equally deprived.

IOW, what's good for the goose.

[norwaypinesavage]

"They [the Gores] also use compact fluorescent bulbs and other energy efficiency measures."

Obviously then, their electric bill is proof that these measures don't work to reduce energy consumption.

[Arrowhead1952]

***How much electricity he uses shouldn't be a factor. How it's produced and where it comes from are far more relevant concerns.***

Oh really? So it's OK to use more power in one month than most people use in a year because it's "green energy"? What if he used 1/4 of that and other households could use the other 3/4 of the energy they now get from coal or gas fired plants?

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Beshert
Since Aug 26, 2006

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You've been half a year and this is your only post?

[reformedliberal]

My wife and I both work out of home offices, we live in a 1913 house with lousy insulation, and our annual electric bill is about $5700, which I still consider to be highway robbery.

The original portion of our home was built in 1912. We have added insulation and space over 30 years. We have a home office, another room dedicated to a home business and a 1600 sq ft remodeled old barn that is a workshop for our other business. Total of 3800 sq ft. We have an above ground pool, 38'x18', heated during the season and a small hot tub kept at 106 degrees year round. Room air conditioning in about 1800 sq ft, all energy efficient and rarely is more than one running at any one time over the 3 months we might need them. 2 computers, a fax machine, 3 TVs, assorted other electronics and both our businesses use loads of hot water. Even our oversized septic system has an electric pump to push the water up to where gravity takes over. We have compact fluorescents in the areas where color discernment isn't vital.

Our total energy bills, electricity, propane heat/hot water and enough firewood to last the winter at 44 degrees North latitude is under $4k/year. Our Rural Electric Cooperative gets around 20% of its power from wind, solar, landfill and dairy farm methane. We drive a Focus for commuting and own a van we use mostly to pull the sailboat. We have a comfortable life at much less energy usage than Algore.From what I could gather in a web search, carbon offsets would run us about US$600/year.

IMO, the Gore's *home offices* are used to reduce their income tax. By having home businesses, they can deduct a portion of their utility bills, probably including their carbon offset costs. I will bet that they also deduct the costs of entertaining by listing it as a business expense. Every time Gore travels, he can deduct gas and depreciation on his personal vehicles as a business expense, as well as the costs of plane travel, lodging and food. I doubt they use discount travel/lodging, as we do. I suppose Tipper is also listed as an employee of Al's *business*.

However, I see around the web that the left is excusing the Gores and anyone who points out their hypocrisy is viciously flamed.

[fedupjohn]

30-thou a year in utility bills and the best they can come up with they each have a home office?

I have a home office and my utility bills here in New Jersey are about $5000.00 a year.

[VideoDoctor]

Normally, that level of electrical usage into a home here in Tenn usually results in a visit from the TBI ( Tenn Bureau of Investigation ) looking to see if you are running an indoor "pot" farm complete with large banks of grow lights.

Just a thought.

[Dave Olson]

"The vice president has done that, Kreider argues, and the family tries to offset that carbon footprint by purchasing their power through the local Green Power Switch program - electricity generated through renewable resources such as solar, wind, and methane gas, which create less waste and pollution."

Nonsense on stilts. The only way these "offsets" can truely offset is if they emit a negative amount of carbon. It's not enough for them to emit no carbon. They must actually absorb it. Solar, wind and methane gas don't do that.

[Politically Correct]

The Other Thread

[redtetrahedron]

"There are no Meteorologists out there who question global warming." Incorrect.

[Holicheese]

And his snowcone maker is going nonstop night and day!

[GATOR NAVY]

Obviously then, their electric bill is proof that these measures don't work to reduce energy consumption.

Or their energy consumption would really be off the scale if they didn't use these measures. Either way the Gores don't look too good.

[GATOR NAVY]

It's interesting to me that most of the harshest critics of protecting our environment and the ecosystems within it have usually never visited a so-called primitive culture, where there is nothing left over to waste and the only energy available is from natural sources i.e. sun, wind, water and wood.

I think it's interesting that those most in favor of "protecting our environment and the ecosystems within it" have no desire themselves to live in a "so-called primitive culture, where there is nothing left over to waste and the only energy available is from natural sources i.e. sun, wind, water and wood" but would more than happy to have the rest of us live so. Hypocrisy at its greatest.

[NordP]

"...In an interview in 2006, David told ABC News that she was limiting her use of private planes and was flying commercial far more frequently."

Ohhhh....the horrors...the SACRIFICE!!!