An Inconvenient Pool - Algore

by Bonnie_Clyde 27 Replies latest jw friends

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  Bonnie_Clyde

  This is from the Wall Street Journal (page A12), Thursday, March 1, 2007: (sorry I don't know how to scan)

  "There is an irresistible quality to the story about Al Gore's energy hungry Tennessee home, replete with a heated poolhouse that burns more natural gas--$500/month worth--than most of us can afford to use while heating houses that shelter people, as opposed to swimming lanes. Did you know that Mr. Gore's house uses more electricity in a month than the average household does in a year?

  The climate-change activist and former vice president insists, through a spokesperson, that this is not as simple as it sounds. The Oscar winner has a clear conscience because he makes sure he pays a premium for electricity from "renewable" sources and claims that he purchases "carbon offsets" to make up for his rampant energy use.

  To "do the carbon offset," as his spokesperson put it, is to fund projects elsewhere that may reduce the total carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere. So, one might burn up hundreds of dollars worth of natural gas to keep one's poolhouse toasty, but then do penance for this carbon sin by paying someone else to put up solar panels. Drew Johnson of the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, the think tank that broke the story, called these offsets a way of "buying his way out of his guilt."

  We don't begrudge Mr. Gore his Tennessee spread or his pool, but his energetic energy use does underscore the complicated nature of modern economic life and the real costs of "doing something" about global warming. The pleasures of affluence take energy, whether they be relaxing in a hot tub after a long day of predicting the end of the Greenland ice sheet, of flying in a private jet to talk political strategy with Leo DiCaprio. You never know where you're going to leave your next carbon footprint.

  Mr. Gore is rich and fortunate enough to be able to afford the "carbon offset" for his energy indulgences. The middle-class parents who need a gas-guzzling SUV to haul the kids to soccer practice might not be so lucky. They might even settle for an unheated pool."
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  Shutterbug

  Mr. Gore is rich and fortunate enough to be able to afford the "carbon offset" for his energy indulgences. The middle-class parents who need a gas-guzzling SUV to haul the kids to soccer practice might not be so lucky. They might even settle for an unheated pool."

  Exactly !!! If Mr. Gore is going to lead the rest of us on global warming perhaps he should lead by example. Otherwise he is going to take a look behind himself and find the followers had disappeared. Rich folks can afford carbon offsets, the rest of us cannot and we will get the brunt of the guilt trips. Does all of this sound familiar?
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  ithinkisee

  ::Exactly !!! If Mr. Gore is going to lead the rest of us on global warming perhaps
  ::he should lead by example. Otherwise he is going to take a look behind himself and
  ::find the followers had disappeared. Rich folks can afford carbon offsets, the rest
  ::of us cannot and we will get the brunt of the guilt trips. Does all of this sound
  ::familiar?
  
  
  
  read what they are saying or do you simply go by the news blips on the news and opinion posts on JWD?
  
  Let's imagine for a second he wasn't using the renewable energy that he currently does - because of the high cost. If that was the case YOU would say, "Well if anyone he has the money to do it he would - he is a hypocrite."
  
  So I don't think Al Gore can win with you anyways.
  
  I don't think a person is a hypocrite for having a large house. It's the way I feel.
  
  -ithinkisee
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  Undecided

  Birth control would solve the whole problem in one generation.

  Ken P.
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  Shutterbug

  Al Gore and others WANT carbon offsets affordable for the masses

  Oh really ?? How does he plan to accomplish this "affordable" want? Is he going to give me part of his money? If so, I'll hold my breath until the check arrives. In order to get my respect Algore will need to park his private jet and down grade to a much smaller home. But just for the record I firmly believe he can spend his money any way he wishes, just don't try to lead with a "do as I say, not as I do" attitude.

  As I pointed out earlier scientists disagree on rather or not global warming is really caused by humans. Let's take a hard look at all of the facts before we make poor Algore close off some of his bedrooms to save on energy.
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  nvrgnbk

  Gore for Prez in 08!
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  Satanus

  Basically, the world energy guru does not want to give up any quality/quantity of his life. The global warming pope juggles his affairs a bit to fit w his new religion.

  S
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  Satanus

  It reminds me of a religion in a science fiction book, the sirens of titan. It was built on guilt, where peoples' righteousness was based on how many wieghts they strapped onto themselves and carried around all day. The whole thing had been ingeneered. Some guy w a vision got recruits from earth by whatever means. He took them to mars, trained and brainwashed them for a suicidal attack on earth. Earth wiped them out, and then felt all guilty about it when they realised they were all helpless wimps. Hence the new religion.

  S
• 

  rekless

  In California, PG&E (Pacific Gas & Electric) has a program that

  even the poor can buy into. HA Ha. They can pay $4.65 (minimum),but if your conscience is worth more than $4.65 you can pay even more on top of the bill and the company will plant a tree.

  PG&E says they are expecting 4% of their customers will enter into the carbon footprint program. They also are expecting an extra $20 million dollars added revenue entering ithe company's cofers.

  So all of us poor fools lets give our utility companies an extra 20 mil on top of their billion dollar

  monthly intakes.

  Be late paying your bill, see how much they are concern.

  Let me see, I owe $473.00 on my heating bill this month. I really feel bad, it's -20 degrees outside, so Mr. North Western Power Company here is $4.65 extra for you to plant a tree to help solve global warming.

  Yeah, right, I buy into that.

  Oh by the way, I own a corn stove (a mutifuel burning bio energy- corn kernels, pellets, olive & cherry pits) for heating our 2400 sf 100 year old house.

  My utilities dropped from 473.00 to 200.00.

  But I still don't buy into gobal warming.
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  Confession

  This really does seem to be a classic example of hypocrisy. It's just that ordinarily the media spotlight is on some millionaire CEO or Republican politician. Remember what happened a few years ago?

  A Republican congressman had been involved in a statewide think tank on environmental responsibility. He expressed great concern for the environment and encouraged everyone in attendance to do everything they could to reduce their energy consumption. During the same session, one participant then presented evidence that this Republican congressman himself had an enormous ranch that consumed energy at many times the rate of the average home, and that he frequently took trips on Gulfstream jets here and there throughout the nation. The congressman explained that he simply had a large home in which many family members lived and that included a home office. It took a lot of energy for this, but look at all that he was doing to bring attention to this subject. He too mentioned being involved in "carbon offsets." When bringing this up, another panel member likened these offsets to the practice of purchasing indulgences in the Middle Ages. No liberals and certainly no one involved in the environmentalist movement came to his aid.

  The above, as far as I know, never happened. But you and I both know that, had it occurred, it would have been used as just another piece of evidence that Republicans are evil, money-grubbing, selfish people. The fact that it has actually happened to a high-profile Democrat, and that he happens to be the primary spokesman for Global Warming, causes many of his proponents to soften their criticism--or worse yet--even look for reasons to excuse it.

  Can you really imagine a Democrat excusing the above fictional Republican for his massive energy consumption because he paid extra for carbon offsets? It would be just as fictional.

  But the point here is NOT that environmental responsibility has been given a black eye. It's just that it's big spokesman right now has been. Whether humans are making a significant contribution to Global Warming or not, is that any reason not to be environmentally responsible? The air, water and soil in our country is very polluted. And I'm not going to let political divisiveness keep me from doing my part to try and clean it up.