Wednesday, February 28, 2007

An Inconvenient Hypocrisy


The Tennessee Center for Policy Research says that Al Gore, who won an Academy Award last weekend for his film about global warming and the importance of energy conservation, uses 20 times the national average to power his Nashville mansion. What's more, his use has increased since the release of "An Inconvenient Truth"

The Center says:
Gore’s mansion consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES). 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 … In total, Gore paid nearly $30,000 in combined electricity and natural gas bills for his Nashville estate in 2006.

I don't have any particular problem with Al Gore. He seems like a well meaning guy who is concerned about the earth and about potentially lewd rock music lyrics. But when you hold yourself up as an expert/zealot about an issue you have to expect to receive some extra public scrutiny. As Rush Limbaugh discovered when he got busted with a bunch of illegal prescription meds.

If the earth is really in so much danger from fossil fuel emissions then why isn't Gore walking the talk? Why are we supposed to ride bicycles instead of cars when he burns gas by the truckload when he flies around in his private jet? Is he a hypocrite? Or maybe global warming is being exaggerated to sell movie tickets, hybrid cars, and to scare us all into living in caves? I don't know the answers to these questions, of course, but I think that Gore looks like a big goober.

And another thing: I'll bet that Gore's Prius-driving, supermodel-dating, takes-himself-too- seriously buddy, Leonardo DiCaprio, doesn't have solar panels on his Hollywood mansion. He probably doesn't even turn out the lights when he leaves the kitchen. Oh, wait, he probably doesn't even know where the kitchen is; he would have to ask his assistant to point the way. Gore, DiCaprio, and all of their rich, liberal, "environmental" Hollywood friends don't live in the real world but they like to pretend that they do when the cameras are rolling.

No comments: