Agreed, SW. It's hard to take him seriously when he's flying back and forth from his energy-guzzling mansion in private lear jets saying that we should stop driving cars.
If this was really as imperative as he tricks many people to believing, then maybe he should try to fashion his home after the Bush model. Let's compare:
President Bush's Crawford Ranch:
Designed by architect professor of leading university, the 4,000-square-foot house is a model of environmental rectitude.
Geothermal heat pumps located in a central closet circulate water through pipes buried 300 feet deep in the ground where the temperature is a constant 67 degrees; the water heats the house in the winter and cools it in the summer. Systems such as the one in this "eco-friendly" dwelling use about 25% of the electricity that traditional heating and cooling systems utilize.
A 25,000-gallon underground cistern collects rainwater gathered from roof runs; wastewater from sinks, toilets and showers goes into underground purifying tanks and is also funneled into the cistern. The water from the cistern is used to irrigate the landscaping surrounding the four-bedroom home. Plants and flowers native to the high prairie area blend the structure into the surrounding ecosystem.
from the Chicago Tribune, April 29, 2001http://www.commondreams.org/views01/0429-03.htm
Juxtapose this with the house of the utter and complete hypocrit, Al Gore (who by the way urges people to "Calculate your personal impact and learn how you can take action to reduce or even eliminate your emissions of carbon dioxide. You may be surprised by how much CO2 you are emitting each year." He wants you to dramatically change your lifestyle.
Consider his house in Tennessee. A 20 room mansion (not including 8 bathrooms) heated by natural gas. Add on a pool (and a pool house) and a separate guest house, all heated by gas.
In one month this residence consumes more energy than the average American household does in a year. The average bill for electricity and natural gas runs over $2400. In natural gas alone, this property consumes more than 20 times the national average for an American home. This house is not situated in a Northern or Midwestern “snow belt” area. It’s in the South.
According to The Tennessee Center for Policy Research, Nashville Electric Services records obtained by the Center show the Gores in 2006 averaged a monthly electricity bill of $1,359 for using 18,414 kilowatt-hours, and $1,461 per month for using 16,200 kilowatt-hours in 2005.
Over the past two years, the gas and electric bills for his 20-room mansion and pool house devoured nearly 221,000 kilowatt-hours in 2006,
more than 20 times the national average of 10,656 kilowatt-hours.
Nashville Gas Company billed the family during the same period an average of $536 a month for the main house and $544 for the pool house in 2006, and $640 for the main house and $525 for the pool house in 2005. That averages out to be $29,268 in gas and electric bills for the Gores in 2006, $31,512 in 2005.
What a model of economic purity. A true leader certainly deserving of such a prestigious award.