War on warming begins at (Al Gore's) home
By 4ftfingers
@4ftfingers (1310)
April 13, 2007 12:15pm CST
I saw this title to a report and thought how very true.
I'm not at all opposed to cutting energy consumption - we can argue forever whether global warming is happening or not - any kind of conservation is good I think.
Recycling more, turning the boiler down by one degree, taxing the big off-roader vehicles that are bought by people who never intend to take them off road. I'm for that because it's all unnecisary really, especially in our tiny narrow-road towns.
So yeah well done to Al Gore for giving a damn and trying to get everyone else into it, but how can he expect the averag joe to listen to him when his house is consuming more energy in a month than the average American's house does in a year. Who really likes being told 'we all have to do our bit' by someone who clearly isn't doing their bit?Another fact I heard was that the energy consumption of his house, is at a similar rate to a small African country. But that might be an exaggeration because anotyher source states it's the same rate as 20 average households.
But it's okay because apparently he's hooked up to a 'greenline' or something. Where most of the power that's fed to his house comes from renewable energy sources. That's good, but that's not really him doing his bit, that's someone else doing his bit for him.
I know he does need 8 bathrooms, and he probably does need his swimming pool heated all the time just incase he dedides to stop home while he's flying round the world telling us what wasters we are. But I had access to this greenline would that mean I was doing my bit do you think?I love the hypocracy, that's why I can't wait for this Live Earth thing where celebrities will be singing and preaching to us that it's wrong to jet aroudn the world and drive big cars and live in overly big energy wasting houses.
6 people like this
7 responses
@oldiebut (859)
• Canada
13 Apr 07
Yes very wasteful and hypocritical of him. Of course, global warming is not about Al Gore, and his actual effect is negligible compared to the real problem that exists. Don't lose sight of the big picture just to poke fun at Gore. It won't be worth it.
4 people like this
@4ftfingers (1310)
•
13 Apr 07
Oh don't worry buddy I'll never lose sight. I have always been conservational, but people like Gore have nothing to do with that. That's all down to my dear mother. Which I think it should be for everyone. Although over the years we in the west have moved into a way of life where it is easier to waste than to re-use, I still think it's an important value we need to keep and teach our children.
3 people like this
@kamalila (193)
• United States
13 Apr 07
I never really liked Al Gore. And yes, he does seem a bit hyprocritical.
Having said that, I agree that things must be done. I have known this for quite some time. It isn't just the greenhouse gasses we put in the air. One good volcanic eruption puts as much in the air as we have in our whole existence.
Where the real problem is that we are also destroying the Earth's coping mechanisms. As more of the earth gets paved, less green. Last year, I saw a housing developement go up. All $750,000 plus houses. What was the first thing they did? They cut down ALL the trees. Big ones. Oh, sure, once the houses were put in, they planted some saplings, but it will be 50 years before they are of any size.
Swamp lands are getting drained all over the world. Regardless of how many species of animals disappear, these swamplands produce a large chunk of our world's oxygen, and consume the most carbon dioxide doing it.
These are just two examples.
3 people like this
@4ftfingers (1310)
•
13 Apr 07
I know exactly what you mean! Here in the UK, houses are averagely quite small and close together - usually semi-detatched and tiny lawns. Most of our houses were built before cars were invented so we have nowhere to put our cars. On my road everyone has pathed over their front lawns to fit their two or three cars on. I've seen news reports saying this is really unhealthy to do as the there is hardly any green at all on our street, but as most families have more than one car now, we really need to. And houses sell for much more if you have off-street parking so that's the firs tthing people will do if they want to sell their house.
2 people like this
@gifana (4833)
• Portugal
14 Apr 07
I couldn't agree with you more on all points. However, the bills you post are for one of his houses....he has three more.....I wonder if the bills are just as high or higher. He also has the Lord only knows how many cars in each house and from what I have heard a couple of them are delux gas guzzelers. He may be in line for the next Nobel Peace Prize but I sure hope the "awarders" look closely to what is going on and see that Al Gore is not practicing what he preachers. I think it is just a way for him to make money since he's not cut out for much more, in my opinion. I loved it when he pointed out the icebergs breaking up as a result of global warming.....I wonder if he learned about how ice when it melts just renews the displacement rather that increase the water flow. I learned that in grammar school. He was here in Portugal a few weeks ago and there were some "protesters" waiting outside the old gas factory ... now an architectual museum.... They couldn't get in to hear him because it was by invitation only and it cost €160 per person. That's why I say that Al Gore is misleading the world with his so-called war on global warming.
@bobmnu (8157)
• United States
14 Apr 07
Al Gore ownes a Company that for a fee will plant trees to cover your carbon footprint. The wealthy can buy their way out of the global warming. Like you said Al Gore is good at telling us what to do because he has his money and is better than us.
2 people like this
@4ftfingers (1310)
•
14 Apr 07
Exactly, if you have money it's not you that's doing the work, it's your money. I'm sure not many people would object to having solar pannels and wind turbines on their home and in their back yard but these things cost thousands. He should buy them for us :D
2 people like this
@kamalila (193)
• United States
17 Apr 07
Absolutely! I would absolutely love to install a complete solar power system for my home. Maybe a solar/wind combination. But, I'm not rich. I'm just barely getting by. Even after rebates and grants, I would still have to fork out over $30,000 for a system that would do any good. I just can't pull together that kind of money.
@soccermom (3198)
• United States
13 Apr 07
Gore definately does not practice what he preaches, but on the other hand he really has taken global warming to heart and spread awareness about it. I recycle and watch my energy consumption, but I did that long before Al Gore was plastered everywhere. I think it'll be interesting who has what to say at Live Earth. It's still gonna be an awesome concert though. This just came to me...how much waste do you think will come from the Live Earth event? People driving there, creating garbage, the energy it takes to run the light shows and material for sets? It's all kind of a hypocrisy in itself isn't it?
3 people like this
@4ftfingers (1310)
•
13 Apr 07
Good golly miss... soccermom. Doesn't have quite the same ring to it :D
Lol I was watching a programme just now called 'Have I got news for you', and they were talking about this. The presenter goes soemthing like 'The shows are to be the first ever carbon neutral shows - a model of sustainable concerts: hybrid cars will be used to bring the artists to the concerts, food and drink stands will use totally biodegradable containers, air travel by artisits will be offset through carbon credits, and the events will be illuminated entirely by the sun that shines out of Bono's ars*!'
He also said Madonna has agreed that she will only fly to Africa once a year to buy baby orphans.
So yeh maybe it will be carbon neutral but i really doubt it! I bet when they work it out they won't throw in the figures of how much pollution will be made by all the people that go to see the concert.
2 people like this
@soccermom (3198)
• United States
15 Apr 07
Hey! I'm trying to be undercover here! LOL If you were my next door neighbor I'd....plant trees all over your yard! I love the quote about the sunshining out of Bono's ars*! If he hasn't turned into the poster child for all that is right in the world I don't know who has!
@mitchb (254)
• United States
13 Apr 07
Noone is perfect. We all have things we can improve on. Focusing on the negatives is not going to help anything. Sure I think his house could be more energy effcient but so could everyone elses. At least he is out there promoting a change in attitutde that is going to make a difference.
2 people like this
@Woodpigeon (3710)
• Ireland
9 May 07
I just saw an Inconvenient Truth for the first time a couplle of weeks ago and was very impressed with Al Gore for taking this issue to heart and pushing it into people's faces. I wonder what he would have done had he won the presidential election?
About his own personal energy consumption, I am truthfully not the slightest bit surprised that he has an enormous house, enormous cars, and a heated swimming pool. I am dissapointed that it amounts to the same energy consumption as twenty average households (are these single bedroom flats or four bedroom family homes? What is an 'average household?).
I don't know what he is saying other than what saw in IT, but it wasn't that we are wasters, it was that we need to care and we need to make a difference. He is doing that, I think.
