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[off topic] Al Gore’s “Inconvenient Truth” Wins Oscar

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As part of accepting his Oscar for best science fiction movie about how burning less fossil fuel will save the world, Al Gore burns 3,000 gallons of fossil fuel in a private jet to travel from his 10,000 square foot Tennessee mansion to Hollywood and back just to get handed a trophy. We salute Al Gore for so well representing everything we’ve come to expect from bleeding heart liberals. Way to go Al “Do As I Say Not As I Do” Gore!

Update: Tennessee Center for Policy Research finds Gore’s mansion uses 20 times more energy than the average home.

February 26, 2007
For Further Information, Contact:
Nicole Williams, (615) 383-6431
editor@tennesseepolicy.org

Al Gore’s Personal Energy Use Is His Own “Inconvenient Truth”
Gore’s home uses more than 20 times the national average

Last night, Al Gore’s global-warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, collected an Oscar for best documentary feature, but the Tennessee Center for Policy Research has found that Gore deserves a gold statue for hypocrisy.

Gore’s mansion, located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES).

In his documentary, the former Vice President calls on Americans to conserve energy by reducing electricity consumption at home.

The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh—more than 20 times the national average.

Last August alone, Gore burned through 22,619 kWh—guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year. As a result of his energy consumption, Gore’s average monthly electric bill topped $1,359.

Since the release of An Inconvenient Truth, Gore’s energy consumption has increased from an average of 16,200 kWh per month in 2005, to 18,400 kWh per month in 2006.

Gore’s extravagant energy use does not stop at his electric bill. Natural gas bills for Gore’s mansion and guest house averaged $1,080 per month last year.

“As the spokesman of choice for the global warming movement, Al Gore has to be willing to walk the walk, not just talk the talk, when it comes to home energy use,” said Tennessee Center for Policy Research President Drew Johnson.

In total, Gore paid nearly $30,000 in combined electricity and natural gas bills for his Nashville estate in 2006.

Use the link above for the full article.

Comments
DS - A friend recently emailed me this clip from a documentary on Global Warming. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9005566792811497638&q=Global+Warming Very interesting especially given the cast of scientists.late_model
March 12, 2007
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Hadn't seen the SUV Rover cartoon but the National Geographic link was on Drudge yesterday or day before. I never miss anything that appears on The Drudge Report.DaveScot
March 2, 2007
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Dave, I do not know if you have seen the latest on the global warming on Mars but here is a spoof on global warming http://www.bobkrumm.com/blog/2007/03/02/its-bad-enough-that-were-killing-our-planet/ and the latest from National Geographic http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/02/070228-mars-warming.html which also gives the obligatory debunking.jerry
March 2, 2007
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"Adding solar panels and participating in “carbon credit programs” is fine for Mr. Gore, but how many average Americans could afford to do the same thing?" - Daniel And that's why we need more wealth and income redistribution! Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't see that coming. ;)russ
February 28, 2007
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Adding solar panels and participating in "carbon credit programs" is fine for Mr. Gore, but how many average Americans could afford to do the same thing? I doubt Mr. Gore is experiencing a decline in his standard of living because of the sacrifices he's making for the environment.Daniel James Devine
February 27, 2007
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"Last August alone, Gore burned through 22,619 kWh—guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year." Dave Scott: Perhaps global warming activists and skeptics could join hands and form an organization, called DWAGDAGW (Do What Al Gore Does About Global Warming). Activist members would be reponsible for scolding their neighbors about energy consumption and scaring them with hysterical doomsday scenarios. Skeptic members would pledge to consume as much power as their budgets allow.russ
February 27, 2007
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Just to clarify, this is not what I believe, but what some in our society seem to believe. OK :-) And you are right. There are some (AlGore, Leonardo DiCaprio etc) who are convinced that only imposing a strict discipline on people can save the Earth with the caveats that: -- They get to be the ones doing the disciplining -- And they are exempt from it.tribune7
February 27, 2007
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I saw this analogy used elsewhere and thought it appropriate, considering how enviromentalism is more about morality and less about science among certain groups today: "I killed a Jewish family today, but I paid an offset to the ADL so everything's okay now."angryoldfatman
February 27, 2007
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seekandfind Gore's public relation manager's response is typical of how Democrat politicians try to snow the public. It consists of saying how much more greenhouse gases the Gores could be personally responsible for and the fact that they are responsible for less than that means they are doing good things. This is like your spouse coming home and telling you they just saved $50,000 on their new car because instead of purchasing a Ferrari for $200,000 they bought a Porsche for $150,000 instead. Similarly the Democrats tell you they "cut" the federal spending budget whenever they don't expand it as much as they planned. So Al Gore is really a good guy when it comes to personal energy use because instead of consuming 20 times more energy than an average home he could be consuming more than 20 times. :lol: These people insult our intelligence and if you don't see through it then you deserve to be insulted.DaveScot
February 27, 2007
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Here is another explanation that Gore gave : "He said he also buys carbon offsets — a service that tries to reduce the net carbon emissions of individuals or organizations indirectly, through proxies that reduce their emissions and/or increase their absorption of greenhouse gases." Thi sounds like paying someone for his/her energy usage to urge him to use less energy so that he (Gore) can use more. It sounds to me like paying someone to fight for you in a war when you are being drafted.SeekAndFind
February 27, 2007
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"Societal problems are not solved by voluntary acts of individual responsibility and virtue performed by average citizens," Just to clarify, this is not what I believe, but what some in our society seem to believe.russ
February 27, 2007
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Al Gore apparently responded to the charge that he is using too much energy by saying that his house is : "carbon Neutral". See here : http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,254908,00.html By this it is meant that : "...the overall household use of carbon-based energy, like coal-fired power plants and natural gas, is offset either by more fuel-efficient technology or through programs aimed at reducing greenhouse gas-producing energy." His spokesman also says that said "...the 60- to 70-year-old house is undergoing renovations to add solar panels to reduce consumption off the power grid, and energy-efficient windows have been installed. The home also uses "compact" fluorescent light bulbs and other energy-saving technology, the Gores drive hybrids and participate in two programs that indirectly reduce carbon emissions."SeekAndFind
February 27, 2007
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Societal problems are not solved by voluntary acts of individual responsibility and virtue performed by average citizens, If the problem is adqeuately communicated to free citizens the problem is very likely to be solved without compulsion.tribune7
February 26, 2007
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The "inconvenient truth" is alGore not only spews out 4 times the tons of waste in a private plane than a commercial airliner, but he neglects to tell the whole truth. He would sign our nation to oppressive standards of Kyoto where none of the European countries have met guidelines yet and let India and China off the hook, free from any burden at all which is a disaster. Here's a yahoo search on Chinese Pollution: http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=chinese+pollution&ei=UTF-8&fr=moz2&x=wrt Look at the girl wearing the mask. This is not uncommon as Chinese wear mask to work daily to try and stop breathing in the noxious fumes. Notice the people below holding their noses as well as the waterways in other pictures. These are common daily life realities in all the major cities of China. Their cities dwarf ours in population size and pollution. Try "China's Pollution" as a Yahoo Search and see evidence of benzenes dumped into a major river due to an explosion of a chemical plant. What they don't tell you is chemicals are dumped routinely into their waterways and the UN has no way of knowing the full amount of pollution in China. Whereas in America, they have accurate measurments of all our energy producers and accurate collections systems. The horrible situation in China is only getting out now because of internet email and bloggers and visitors bring back pics. I'm all for clean air, but more srongly for energy independence. The faster we de-link ourselves from Middle East terrorist supporting oil, the better. President Bush recently invited Phoenix Motor Cars and other alternative energy and transportation companies to the Whitehouse: http://www.phoenixmotorcars.com/ Tesla is planning on a new manufacturing base in New Mexico: http://www.teslamotors.com/media/press_room.php?id=257&js_enabled=1 Plus, many are making great headway in new biodiesel fuel as well. I'd hope our government would pour billions into battery and solar research, tax breaks, etc. The day we can cheaply collect energy from the sun and pack batteries in a car with it, will be a good day indeed. The real breakthrough will come on the day they turn our nations highways and roads into collectors of solar energy to be routed for city, state, and public use. This could simultaneously reduce heat gradients in cities and collect needed energy for transportation. By reducing the overall heat footprint within a city, this will also reduce the power needs. Much like living in the country and the shade of an oak tree reduces the need for greater A/C usage, so to could smart development reduce the amount of heat radiance in our cities. I think ID can be utilized to mimic trees and natural canopies in sustainable goals for our future workforce and business environs. There are ways the market and government can work together on all these goals. What we do not need is bashing of America, or false rhetorical devices to scare us into action. We already have enough incentive to rid ourselves of oil and find new alternatives.Michaels7
February 26, 2007
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I tend to dissent from the popular opinion here quite frequently, but I couldn't agree more with this. The "elite" of our society are corrupted to a point that it makes me sick. I'm not trying to be dramatic but honestly. I generally liked "An Inconvenient Truth," but it was a perfect example of what I mean. There was an opportunity to make a good movie that could inform a lot of people in a way that is entertaining and powerful. However, Gore couldn't resist throwing in some propaganda along the way (think "I used to be the next President..." and countless random scenes of "hanging chads" and etc.). It's like the underlying message was "if you had elected ME there wouldn't be any global warming!" Most of these people have no real moral commitment to these issues, they simply want to spin things and play the public for their own personal gain. "I don't really consider this a political issue, I consider it to be a moral issue..." alright, Al. Is that why you showed all the highly relevant clips of the 2000 election... because that's not political at all, right? (wink, wink)cdf
February 26, 2007
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Dave Scott are you sure he flew in private jet? I would most definitely believe it (similar to a character in Michael Crichton's State of Fear) but are sure he did such a thing in making such a statement? I recently read the mass loss of polar bears to due to reduced flow ice he cites in the film is only four found off Alaska and the conclusion was posited very hypothetically by researchers.late_model
February 26, 2007
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I don't watch the Oscars anymore because the whole thing has become a farce. It's no longer about rewarding excellence in the cinematic arts, but for advancing a certain sociopolitical agenda. Al has won an Oscar for the same reason why Michaed Moore won an award for his awful "Bowling for Columbine." Mainstream America, however, does not buy into the agenda advanced by Hollywood, which is why most Americans don't bother watching the Oscars. The Academy gleefully hands out awards to films that decry patriotism, or family, or faith, or even simple decency--and then scratches its head wondering why they can't get more people to watch their award shows.TerryL
February 26, 2007
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Societal problems are not solved by voluntary acts of individual responsibility and virtue performed by average citizens, but by the passing of laws compelling universal compliance with the prescriptions of better men than ourselves. If that handful of better men violate their own prescriptions while seeking to bring the rest of us into compliance, then it is a tiny price to pay if it ultimately forces hundreds of millions to conform to their vision. Or at least that seems to be the thinking here.russ
February 26, 2007
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