AL GORE Hypocrisy

[GenuineRisk]

Originally Posted by SniperSB23

I'm the polar opposite of the right but can't understand how you can defend a guy that averages more energy consumpion in a month than most people use in a year. Especially when that guy is out there telling everyone they need to reduce their energy consumption.

Sniper, he's a former VP of the US and a celebrity. I hate to say it, but some people are going to be using more energy. I can't stand GW, but I don't begrudge him flying on Air Force One- he's the President. What Al is doing is buying carbon offsets for the amount of carbon he uses- he's trying to reduce what he is costing the environment to zero by paying for it. Which is more than you can say for most of us, myself included (I have Green Power for my apartment's electric, but I still take taxis and stuff). Here's the wikipedia entry on carbon offsets:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_...y_conservation

The key to conservation is understanding no one is going to be perfect, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't make an effort, each and every one of us, to cut back where we can. Walk or bike ride short trips. Park in the first parking space you see- don't drive around and around looking for a closer spot. Don't idle the car. Keep the house a little cooler in the winter and a little warmer in the summer. Buy recycled paper. It's something. Gore is making an effort. He's not going to be perfect; none of us are, but my God, at least he's trying.

[SniperSB23]

Originally Posted by GenuineRisk

Sniper, he's a former VP of the US and a celebrity. I hate to say it, but some people are going to be using more energy. I can't stand GW, but I don't begrudge him flying on Air Force One- he's the President. What Al is doing is buying carbon offsets for the amount of carbon he uses- he's trying to reduce what he is costing the environment to zero by paying for it. Which is more than you can say for most of us, myself included (I have Green Power for my apartment's electric, but I still take taxis and stuff). Here's the wikipedia entry on carbon offsets:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_...y_conservation

The key to conservation is understanding no one is going to be perfect, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't make an effort, each and every one of us, to cut back where we can. Walk or bike ride short trips. Park in the first parking space you see- don't drive around and around looking for a closer spot. Don't idle the car. Keep the house a little cooler in the winter and a little warmer in the summer. Buy recycled paper. It's something. Gore is making an effort. He's not going to be perfect; none of us are, but my God, at least he's trying.

Doesn't his using such redonkulous amounts of energy from renewable sources just in turn drive up demand and prices for others wanting to use that energy? I'm sorry but using 20 times the energy in a year regardless of where it is coming from is not trying.

[dellinger63]

well I'd love to see Gore riding a bike, planting a tree, etc etc. He doesn't but wants you and I to do so. Remember his quote on Oprah that he and his family once tried to re-plant his Christmas tree but it didn't work. So not only does he use the electricity an avg family uses in a year in the space of 30 days but he is also a complete moron to think a harvested Christmas tree can be replanted. I'm not arguing global warming as it exists and has to be stopped but Al Gore either has to shut his mouth or buck up and make some personal sacrifices.

[GenuineRisk]

Originally Posted by dellinger63

well I'd love to see Gore riding a bike, planting a tree, etc etc. He doesn't but wants you and I to do so. Remember his quote on Oprah that he and his family once tried to re-plant his Christmas tree but it didn't work. So not only does he use the electricity an avg family uses in a year in the space of 30 days but he is also a complete moron to think a harvested Christmas tree can be replanted. I'm not arguing global warming as it exists and has to be stopped but Al Gore either has to shut his mouth or buck up and make some personal sacrifices.

Then, dellinger (all politics aside, how the heck are you, by the way? ), click on some of the links within the article DTS posted and read Gore's responses. He's trying-- he takes commercial flights when possible. You know he could fly on private planes the rest of his life, but he's not. He drives a hybrid. He's BUYING THE CARBON OFFSETS. If spending your discretionary income to get more trees planted isn't bucking up, then what is? Sure, he's got lots of money, but he's spending some of it to reduce his carbon footprint. What kind of sacrifice to you expect him to make? Killing two of his children so his family uses fewer resources? No, he's not out planting the trees himself, but someone is getting paid to do so with his carbon offsets- so trees get planted AND someone gets a job.

He is bucking up, for the love of Pete, and he's being vocal about it so hopefully some of us will buck up a bit, too. Because one man doing a lot is worth nothing compared to a lot of people doing a little.

Wash laundry in cold water
Line dry your clothes
Pack your lunch (uses fewer disposable containers than buying it every day)
Recycle your printer cartridges
Buy Energy Saver appliances.

[dellinger63]

Nicole, doing great hope all is well with you. But I don't believe for a second that he even drives what more a hybrid. He probably does have one in his heated garage and bet he doesn't even know how to start it. As far as riding a bike one look at him will give you the answer to that one.

[Downthestretch55]

Dellinger,
Something stinks about this story. How did the Tennessee Institute for Policy research get access to Gore's utility bills?
This "non-story" smells like a smear.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/gen...convenient.htm

[dellinger63]

Originally Posted by Downthestretch55

Dellinger,
Something stinks about this story. How did the Tennessee Institute for Policy research get access to Gore's utility bills?
This "non-story" smells like a smear.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/gen...convenient.htm

Don't know how they got em but they did! If they made it up that would be the first thing Gore would have responded to rather than Hmmm Hmmmm Hmmm. I want to see the proof Gore paid for his carbon offsets in the form of cancelled checks. Planting dead Christmas trees doesn't count. Let's see how many commercial flights he took, pics of him driving his hybrid etc etc etc. This guy is full of BS and needs to go back to reinventing himself as the inventor of the internet. Maybe he should hand off to Ralph Nader. And Pelosi wants a private 757 courtesy of taxpayers. LMAO

[brianwspencer]

Originally Posted by dellinger63

And Pelosi wants a private 757 courtesy of taxpayers. LMAO

Come on Del, don't start discrediting yourself now. You had a point on the Gore thing, at least topically.

If you really want to dive into the Pelosi thing, you're going to come out looking like a right-wing shill.

There is absolutely nothing to that story at all.

Don't ruin the mini-roll you've started on the Gore thing by bringing in some partisan bullshit that has was disproved by the following day.

[sham]

Well here's the answer. We can use any and all the energy we want. No worry. All you got to do is buy sufficient "carbon offsets" to cover your use and there will magically be zero polution.

[SniperSB23]

Originally Posted by sham

Well here's the answer. We can use any and all the energy we want. No worry. All you got to do is buy sufficient "carbon offsets" to cover your use and there will magically be zero polution.

That's pretty much how I take it. Obviously having a mansion and a guest house are going to use more energy. However with him using 20 times the average (on top of whatever energy he is getting from solar power) I have to feel he could do a much better job conserving instead of just paying money to offset his usage. It is the attitude of I am rich and can afford to recklessly use energy while you peons must conserve that disgusts me.

[brianwspencer]

Originally Posted by sham

Well here's the answer. We can use any and all the energy we want. No worry. All you got to do is buy sufficient "carbon offsets" to cover your use and there will magically be zero polution.

Originally Posted by SniperSB23

That's pretty much how I take it. Obviously having a mansion and a guest house are going to use more energy. However with him using 20 times the average (on top of whatever energy he is getting from solar power) I have to feel he could do a much better job conserving instead of just paying money to offset his usage. It is the attitude of I am rich and can afford to recklessly use energy while you peons must conserve that disgusts me.

Sham,

Do you really understand how carbon offsets work? I'm not trying to put up a blind ass-cover for Gore, sure he could use less energy. With a house that size, he will still of course, use more energy than most.

Think of it this way. His bill is 20x the average bill. Of course it is, he has a 20 room house. I'm sure that "non-partisan" group conveniently left out how they calculated their average, using every single energy user, including those in studio and one-bedroom apartments all over the country. I would fully expect that someone with a house 20x bigger than my apartment would use 20x more energy than me. That's not news to anyone.

Carbon offsets used to help decrease your carbon footprint are a great thing. It is always those who don't understand how they work, as if it is some fictitious way to just throw away money to make oneself feel good, who are quick to dismiss the idea.

It also states quite clearly that his energy is coming from green energy sources, which is exactly what he wants people to do -- cut down on their non-envirofriendly energy consumption.

I wouldn't call it a "smear," per se. I would just call it a non-issue because the whole stink is about the raw numbers of his energy use and not about the notions of where it is coming from, how it is being offset, etc etc. It's all sort of boring and convenient. Everyone's gotta have a rallying cry, I guess. Some of them just manage to make them over things that are actually important.

Originally Posted by Bababooyee

LOL

1. I think his whole global warming thing is a ruse. In reality, he knows about the upcoming ice age, and is bulking up for it (same reason he was sporting a beard for a while...and I'm not talking about Tipper, so stop! ).


2. Obviously having a mansion and a guest house are going to use more energy. However with him using 20 times the average (on top of whatever energy he is getting from solar power) I have to feel he could do a much better job conserving instead of just paying money to offset his usage. It is the attitude of I am rich and can afford to recklessly use energy while you peons must conserve that disgusts me.

Quote 1: You need to take a serious look a the data. There is not a legit scientist who does not think the avg. temp on Earth has risen drastically. The debate is really how much humans have impacted the warming. Just because it snows NY under (or vice versa, we have a huge heatwave this summer) does not change the FACTS that the average temp. on the earth has risen to unprecedented levels compared to the cycles experienced in the last 200,000 years (in which we have experienced warming followed by ice ages) So Al is just making it up?

Quote 2: YES INDEED.

I understand Gore believes in what he is doing. He just needs to live it himself. Twenty flippin rooms. That is outrageous. His family alone is using about what 2000 run of the mill Chinese use. LIVE IT. It makes the efforts palatable.

Ghandi he is not. Now mass-wise, he might be 3 or 4 Ghandis...

[Danzig]

gore is a hypocrite in every sense of the word. we should expect him to use more energy since he lives in a bigger house?! that justifies him not practicing what he preaches? if he was as 'green' as he claims, he wouldn't sleep at night in his big mansion-he'd live in an eco-friendly house! ah, not so easy to practice what one preaches.

how ironic, that bush lives in a house that uses 1/4 the electricity of most houses.

reminds me of the time one of the younger kennedys was on a talk show, railing about the use of SUVs...of course let's not talk about his flights in his private jet, which consumes more fuel in a trip than many humans use in a year! 'that has nothing to do with it' he sniffed. um, yeah, it does.

[KY_Sasquash]

Originally Posted by Danzig188

gore is a hypocrite in every sense of the word. we should expect him to use more energy since he lives in a bigger house?! that justifies him not practicing what he preaches? if he was as 'green' as he claims, he wouldn't sleep at night in his big mansion-he'd live in an eco-friendly house! ah, not so easy to practice what one preaches.

how ironic, that bush lives in a house that uses 1/4 the electricity of most houses.

reminds me of the time one of the younger kennedys was on a talk show, railing about the use of SUVs...of course let's not talk about his flights in his private jet, which consumes more fuel in a trip than many humans use in a year! 'that has nothing to do with it' he sniffed. um, yeah, it does.

couldn't agree more. all these actors take up these causes to save the world and then don't live by those standards. classic example of "do as i say, not as i do"

Originally Posted by Bababooyee

Actually, I was just making light of Al Gore's weight gain and one-time beard (not Tipper), ie things you do when cold weather ("ice age") is approaching. lol

OOps, my bad. Apology thrown your way. Sorry.

[Pants II]

dell...I'm going to miss you tremendously.