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Originally Posted by robertthebard
No commmercial airlines? How hard would it be to secure most of the first class section of an airliner going where he needs to go? Do as I say, not as I do kinda thing, so far as I can tell, including the energy consumption at his home. To me, this would have made him "a forfeit", as I'm sure I'm not alone in considering Al a bit hypocritical.
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Well, this was a smear plan spread by Fox according to Gore's people. I recall hearing it and dismissed it immediately as inconsequential - even if it was true (which it isn't) for the reasons cited above.
His overall message does not lose importance or credibility, if not for him, then for us and our children, and our children's children. This was originally on his movie website message boards.
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We should at least thank Al Gore for daring to care about the stupid planet while there is a war in Iran to plan. This is inevitably followed by a sneering diatribe on Gore's monthly utility bill. Well, the truth is that Al Gore practices what he preaches and he lead's an exemplary environmental lifestyle. Here are the facts, without the tired old right-wing distortions and lies.
1. Al Gore has recently completed renovations to make his residence a model "green" home.
2. This plan has been in the works for a long time and has only recently been made public because of attacks by the right.
3. Gore's home meets Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council.
4. Al Gore's neighborhood council had zoning laws that previously prohibited the installation of solar panels. That has now changed and Al Gore has installed solar panels on his roof.
5. He has installed a geothermal system that will drastically reduce the cost of his water heating.
6. He has upgraded his windows and ductwork for maximum energy efficiency.
7. He has installed energy-efficient light bulbs.
8. He has created a rainwater collection system for irrigation and water management.
9. Al Gore drives a hybrid vehicle.
10. Al Gore's family has signed up for 100% percent green power through Green Power Switch.
11. Al Gore espouses a very consistent belief in purchasing carbon offsets to offset his family's carbon footprint. This is a concept the right-wing fails to understand and I suggest you do some reading before you discount it.
12. Al Gore flies commercial whenever possible. He is also an ex Vice President of the United States and receives numerous threats. Depending upon the security assessment and his schedule he is sometimes precluded from flying commercial.
13. Al Gore maintains his official office in his home which requires adequate staff and space. He's has no other offices, making it unnecessary to use energy in separate locations.
14. The Gores' energy bills are in line with others in their part of the country. They live in the South, where extreme heat and humidity make air-conditioning the main drain on energy usage.
15. The Gores purchase, at great expense to themselves, "green" energy for their home (green energy costs 50% more than energy from conventional sources).
16. One hundred percent of the profits from Al Gore's book and movie "An Inconvenient Truth" are going to a new bi-partisan educational campaign to further spread the message about global warming in addition to having a thousand people offer his slide presentation to groups around the world.
The purveyors of pseudo-scientific snake oil, are in reality politically motivated right-wing zealots and Ayn Rand "I'll do what I want when I want" disciples. They stand for enabling and protecting corporate profits at the expense of all of us. It's that simple. Pollution control and cleanup costs money, new technologies make their polluting one's obsolete. They can scream and yell from the highest mountaintop about how that is not true, and that won't change the reality . . . it is true. So is Al Gore's message.
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