Al Gore’s Personal Energy Use Is His Own “Inconvenient Truth”

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 to 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.


Looks like Gores pleas for lowering energy usage only goes for us 'little people'. He seems not to have a problem using 20 times the national average on his fabulous mansion or on his personal jet trips. Just another do as I say not as I do politician.

 

Drusus,I didn't know that the former Vice-President did win an Oscar.I knew that Martin Scorsese did win his first Oscar though.

Aidan.

 

Drusus... I think he should be called AL Gorged!! What a hogg!!
Goes to show you $$$$$$$ has power!!

RickieB

 

Well, thats the inconvienience of his truths..that he beleives it only affects the average american and not the "important" people

 

Hey. What you don't know, is that Mr. Gore's energy costs much more than ours, because he buys "green electricity" which is much more expensive, and is offered buy some energy companies. Alot of the energy comes from solar, and other "eco-freindly" energy sources.

 

You are attempting reason with unreasonable people (good luck)

 

Oh, I know...Its not a secret that what? LAst year? He started supplementing his energy with alternative sources that are much more expensive.

I guess you are going to somehow try to reason how its okay for an enegy conservationist to use enough energy to power a small town on his personal residence because he is wealthy and can afford to supplenment a bit of it from alternative enegy sources all the while wagging his finger at the common man who buys cheap (because as we know alternative energy is more expensive) telling us we need to sacrifice. Not to mention all the while saying we should heavily tax gas as a punishment to the common man for fuel consumption and force them to spend the extra bucks for alternative energy that for him doesnt even make a dent but for us would severely effect our standard of living....my bad

 

Umm... what "green" alternative source is there for natural gas? That would be (based on my cost for natural gas) roughly 850ccf/month. My own average is 53ccf/month with a total usage for 2006 being 640ccf. That's nearly 1/4 more in one month that my total for a year.

And I pay attention too. I actually go out to check my meter during the month to see how much I'm using. I cut my heat back during the day (to about 60 degrees) when I'm not home. On a sunny day, the light coming in the windows can keep the house above the thermostat setting... typically about 64 degrees. In the evening during cooler weather, I light the house with oil lamps and lanterns. They burn straight 1-k kerosene with no odor. I started doing it because I like the light that they give and like to collect different styles, but quickly learned that with average use of less than 1 gallon/week, they will keep the house at 69 degrees without the aid of the furnace and if I light up the aladdin up to 72. So, by the end of the heating season here, my natural gas usage will have dropped even lower than it was last year with a much lower supplementation amount of kerosene usage.

So now I'll...

...because I'm in agreement and the ask... are you still reasoning with the unreasonable?

 

I think the point, is that each householed should try to reduce their own negative impact on the environment. I don't like Al Gore anyway, so criticize him all you want. Have fun!

 

they can't stand the guy because he is good, and they hate good and love evil.

 

Gore is good? At what? Oh ya, he's wealthy. He is good at being wealthy, certainly never accomplished anything in Politricks.. OH WAIT. How can I forget, he invented the internet. Hail to the Chief, wanna be...

 

(unlike Bush) Exxon would not have written his energy policy. You are ignorant.

 

Actually, I beleive CERN invented the internet.

 

I burn green energy as well and it only costs 12 dollars more a month on average. Mind you my heated pool and spa is not on 24hrs a day seven days a week which I would not be surprised that Gores home is be it anyone is at home or not, be it if anyone ever goes swimming or not. etc.....

Personally, I don't even think Gore understood anything he was talking about anyway. All he is, is a rich mans kid who was propped up in political office and never achieved anything on his own. This environmental kick is just another prop his people placed him on as a showcase to redo his image.

 

and you are insulting and abrasive and unable to make a point without striking out with abuse...a sign of how weak you are at making a point...

 

Danr may be abusive, but at least he's got his facts straight. It amazes me that you guys would ream Gore for using green energy!

I do agree that those of us seeking to address the environmental problems of our planet could have used a better spokesman, one that was more of a pioneer in the field of alternative energy. The problem is, there are many such people... and by decreasing our carbon footprint they systematically eschew practices (such as extensive travel and high-energy living) that could make them widely known. That is part of the, admittedly, very real dilemma.

Gore is out there, admittedly living a high-energy lifestyle, while trying to argue for large-scale STRUCTURAL changes in the fabric of American society and economics that might make our society sustainable. As a creature OF that society he is (as are we all) still bound by its precepts. The choices we are offered (at the car lot, the grocery store, our utilities, the hardware store etc) do not normally include choices that would allow us to consciously reduce our own impact. We are constantly bombarded by pressure to buy more, consume more, spend more, more more MORE. But it does not take a genius to add some numbers and see that we CANNOT continue along this path. The rest of the world cannot hope to achieve the American Dream of massive energy waste because there's just not enough resources on the PLANET to supply it for everyone.

Apparently this is too deep for some folks to understand, but Gore is doing what he can to spread the word that we are in trouble. You can choose not to believe that (as many appear to do) but only by purposefully holding yourself in ignorance. The current path that our society is taking will certainly lead to catastrophic collapse. Major changes must be made to avoid that collapse and the attendant problems that would ensue, and the single most important change is to quit sucking the middle-east oil teat. To do that we must do TWO THINGS. One is to reduce our consumption of energy by a large fraction. This can be accomplished primarily through innovations in effiency and the abandonment of unsustainable practices. Secondly we must be creating more energy from the resource we have available right here on American soil. This may include some nuclear options, but must certainly rely heavily on solar and wind. These are technologies that are well understood and exist today. The fact that they are NOT BEING USED at anywhere near the potential scale is due to the fact that certain interests that are raking in huge profits from milking the current perceived energy crisis do not wish it.

Gore's not perfect, but he's a good man and working hard. I hear an awful lot of people gripe about him, but to me those gripes are the squakings of carrion birds with nothing better to do than pick bones. Such people add nothing, do nothing, and create nothing.

 

Those committing character assassination of Al Gore remind me of the politics of personal destruction tactics that the sleezest of politicians practice with such ease. If you can't argue with the message with any degree of competency or authority, assail the messenger and divert the topic. It's an ugly enough practice in the political arena but employing it as a weapon against each other in a non-political context just compounds the stupidity that the majority of us see right through.

In my opinion, Americans have never been so divided. In the past, we would to pull together during difficult times. Now we can't even agree on the problems much less their solutions. In the course of every civilization there is a time that it's ideals and principles are tested by various events and is either found to be strong enough to pass that test or fails and begins to pass into history. You just never know what point you are at until you have the benefit of hindsight which is generally too late to do anything about it anyway. Given all the challenges we face and our complete denial in the face of the brewing storm, we may in fact deserve our eventual fate or may yet rise up one more time. I guess it is up to us to decide how much we want for our children and their future. If we are going out with a wimper, we might as well prepare them for the consequences of our actions now rather than surprise them with it later.

Al Gore reminds me a bit of the character in the song Cinderella Man by Rush. It seems that the more you do to challenge the problems in the world, the more those that make a living off of those problems paint you as crazy.

Cinderella Man By Rush

A modest man from Mandrake
Travelled rich to the city
He had a need to discover
A use for his newly-found wealth

Because he was human
Because he had goodness
Because he was moral
They called him insane

Delusions of grandeur
Visions of splendour
A manic depressive
He walks in the rain

Eyes wide open
Heart undefended
Innocence untarnished

Cinderella Man
Doing what you can
They can't understand
What it means

Cinderella Man
Hang on to your plans
Try as they might
They cannot steal your dreams

In the betrayal of his love he awakened
To face a world of cold reality
And a look in the eyes of the hungry
Awakened him to what he could do

He held up his riches
To challenge the hungry
Purposeful motion
For one so insane

They tried to fight him
Just couldn't beat him
This manic depressive
Who walks in the rain

 

Just a slice of 2005 in Bush's enviromental record (Bush is a piece of crap):


September
EPA to make toxics reporting standards more lenient for industry (09/16/05)


August
BLM director encouraged ranchers' lawsuits against her own agency (08/29/05)

White House proposes weak fuel economy standards for gas guzzlers (08/23/05)

Federal judge rebukes Bush administration for downgrading salamander protections (08/19/05)

Bush administration devalues estimated contribution of forest recreation to economy (08/15/05)

Bush administration slashes habitat protections for salmon (08/12/05)

Federal agency halves seasonal wetlands habitat (08/12/05)

Park Service spending millions more on Yellowstone snowmobiling study (08/10/05)

Alaskan sea otter gets Endangered Species Act protection (08/09/05)






July
Federal judge says San Joaquin River water contracts hurt endangered species (07/28/05)

EPA’s public relations campaign a waste of funds, says group (07/26/05)

EPA shelves bad-news report about auto fuel efficiency until after energy bill vote (07/26/05)

Interior Dept. drills away environmental protections (07/21/05)

BLM's new grazing rules issued in disregard of gov't scientists' concerns (07/16/05)

FDA experts often culled from the ranks of industry (07/14/05)

Federal fisheries agency broke the law, investigation finds (07/13/05)

Bush administration expands popular energy conservation program (07/10/05)






June
BLM limits citizen input on drilling on public lands (06/30/05)

EPA to allow mine wastewater discharge into Alaskan bay (06/29/05)

FWS reinstates whistle-blower employee (06/29/05)

New fisheries rules could harm fish (06/22/05)

New fisheries rules could harm fish (06/22/05)

Pentagon ignored perchlorate pollution, GAO finds (06/21/05)

Former oil lobbyist employed by White House leaves to join ExxonMobil (06/15/05)

Bush administration disregards science on grazing damage (06/15/05)






May
Forest Service employee punished for reporting pesticide misuse (05/27/05)

Bush visit fails to boost morale at the EPA (05/26/05)

Judge rules Bush administration played down threat to endangered fish (05/26/05)

EPA gives money for beach monitoring programs (05/25/05)

Fish and Wildlife Service denies protection for pygmy rabbit (05/24/05)

EPA dumps its sewage dumping proposal (05/19/05)

Bush administration agrees to protect desert plants in Utah (05/17/05)

White House pushes nuclear power plants (05/17/05)






April
Energy development not hampered by lack of drilling permits (04/28/05)

BLM underestimates wildlife threats from drilling in Colorado (04/21/05)

EPA's mercury pollution plan won't meet reduction targets on time (04/21/05)

BLM shutting out public on Wyoming drilling plans (04/14/05)

EPA proposes weaker selenium standard (04/13/05)

Federal wildlife officials drastically trim endangered toad protections (04/13/05)

EPA decides against testing pesticides on children (04/08/05)

FWS cites national security as reason to reduce habitat protection in California (04/08/05)






March
EPA cracks down on coke plant pollution (03/31/05)

States sue EPA over new mercury rule (03/29/05)

White House weakens EPA cancer safeguards (03/29/05)

BLM plans to open up protected desert land to recreation and development (03/24/05)

Florida crocodiles to lose endangered status (03/24/05)

Bush administration appeals mountaintop mining defeat (03/18/05)

EPA inspector general to review hydraulic fracturing study (03/17/05)

EPA weakens mercury reduction requirements for power plants (03/15/05)






February
Federal court rules illegal EPA's lax factory-farm pollution rule (02/28/05)

UN environmental summit agrees to voluntary approach to reduce mercury pollution (02/25/05)

EPA seeks controversial expansion of voluntary pollution-reduction programs (02/23/05)

Judge approves off-road vehicle restrictions in Florida's Big Cypress Preserve (02/22/05)

Judge approves off-road vehicle restrictions in Florida's Big Cypress Preserve (02/22/05)

Forest Service sued over its Sierra Nevada logging plan (02/20/05)

EPA making illegal, secret agreements with pesticide makers, NRDC charges (02/17/05)

Bush points to technology as key to climate change fix (02/17/05)






January
More pollution at national parks promised by Bush drilling juggernaut (01/28/05)

FWS removes federal protections for imperiled mouse (01/28/05)

BLM opens tortoise habitat to motorized recreation (01/27/05)

Fish and Wildlife Service discards scientific advances on endangered species (01/27/05)

Otero Mesa grassland opened to drilling (01/24/05)

EPA shirks the growing electronics-waste dilemma (01/21/05)

EPA grants amnesty to polluting factory farms (01/21/05)

Industry buys access to Bush inauguration (01/20/05)

 

Ignorant is not an insult, it simply means that you lack an informed perspective.

 

AMEN!!