Wednesday, February 06, 2013

High-flying, multiple-mansion-owning Al Gore on his own carbon footprint: "I walk the walk...I even have a solar-paneled little houseboat for recreation"

Al Gore, still energized - latimes.com
I do know that scientists who study the climate crisis say we are on borrowed time. ...I've gotten a heartening reaction from conservatives who said this book transcends ideology. I've tried to be strictly factual in reporting trends that I've found the evidence [for], and let the chips fall where they may.
...The Internet is empowering individuals to create reform, to connect with others who want a brighter future and design ways to encourage positive change. I've seen individual bloggers have a big impact on the way issues are debated. New reform movements have sprung up on the Internet.
...
He says you're hypocritical for making a lot of money and living well while telling people they need to change their lifestyles for the sake of the planet.
...I walk the walk. I have solar panels all over my house; I even have a solar-paneled little houseboat for recreation. I have geothermal wells underneath my driveway and an electric car.
...
[Q] So your carbon footprint will stand up to anybody's in the First World?

Some people depreciate the significance of carbon offsets, but when you investigate them thoroughly, I think they are valid, and I minimize my carbon footprint and then completely offset what cannot be eliminated.
Flashback » Gore Hits the Waves with a Massive New Houseboat
And now, in order to complete his hypocrisy trifecta, Al Gore may now be extending his excessive consumption to the water as well. In an amazing display of conspicuous consumption, even for Al Gore, his new 100-foot houseboat that docks at the Hurricane Marina in Smithville, Tennessee is creating a critical buzz among many of his former congressional constituents. Dubbed “Bio-Solar One,” which may reflect some latent Air Force One envy, Gore has proudly strutted the small-town dock claiming that his monstrous houseboat is environmentally friendly. (Only Al Gore would name his boat B.S. One and not get the joke. Or perhaps the joke is on us?)

The boat is a custom-built Fantasy Yacht built specifically for Gore by Bill Austin of Sparta, Tennessee.
Flashback - Al Gore Buys A 100FT Housboat Tto Save The Climate
Let’s not forget: Gore made similar claims about the environmental benefits of the solar panels and other “green” additions he made to his 10,000 square foot home in Belle Meade, a cushy neighborhood in Nashville, Tennessee. The environmental savings promised from his “investments” failed to produce the results that he touted. In fact, his “energy efficient” renovations to his home actually INCREASED his electrical consumption by 10% rather than producing the promised reductions. Ultimately, Gore’s water-based excursions on his giant houseboat may prove more environmentally friendly than his fleet of limos, his private jets or his mansion. Perhaps the B.S. One will never live up to its nickname, but the jet ski on the boat is clearly powered by something other than solar or bio-diesel.

1 comment:

MajorMike said...

The cost of "indulgences" (carbon offsets) has fallen so low that Al can buy them on the European exchange for chump change - two metric tons worth for the cost of an 8.3 pound bag of charcoal briquets. Meanwhile, China and India are building over a million Megawatts of coal-fired generating capacity. Unlike solar or wind generation, China and India will actually get a million MW from their coal plants, rather than the 1/4 million you get from a million MW of wind installations, or the 1/8 million MW from a million MW of solar installations. Plus China and India won't have to build 100% spinning back up natural gas generation, and rebuild their entire electrical transmission system. China and India are also full speed ahead on developing and bringing on line liquid fluoride thorium reactors (LFTR). Somehow China and India must have lost Al's teachings in the translation.