# Bush's home more eco-friendly than Gore's **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 7, 2007, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-home-more-eco-friendly-than-gores/399085 "2007-04-07T08:46:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-home-more-eco-friendly-than-gores/399085/1 "2007-04-07T08:46:02Z")
Too weak really for a pitting. Look ye [here](http://www.theothersideofkim.com/index.php/tos/single/10450/). ---
**Author:** ![Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/c4cdca/32.png) [@Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quiddity_Glomfuster)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-home-more-eco-friendly-than-gores/399085/2 "2007-04-07T08:56:11Z")
Uh huh. Now can we have a real cite and not ‘Joe Nobody’s Blog citing anonymous emails’? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-home-more-eco-friendly-than-gores/399085/3 "2007-04-07T11:18:28Z")
[Snopes.](http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/house.asp) ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-home-more-eco-friendly-than-gores/399085/4 "2007-04-07T16:12:50Z")
Al Gore needs to fix this ASAP. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-home-more-eco-friendly-than-gores/399085/5 "2007-04-07T16:33:10Z")
[QUOTE=Quartz] Look ye [here](http://www.theothersideofkim.com/index.php/tos/single/10450/). [/QUOTE] Course, that’s the President’s _vacation_ home they’re talking about. I wonder what the monthly power bill is at the white house. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-home-more-eco-friendly-than-gores/399085/6 "2007-04-07T17:11:21Z")
Wasn’t this covered in exhaustive detail in a GD thread not that long ago? As I recall, it boiled down to Gore’s detractors slamming him for using so much energy, while his defenders attempted to explain that Gore’s message isn’t to use less energy, but to use less polluting energy. I say attempted because I don’t think it got through. Ah, [here’s the thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=410277). ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-home-more-eco-friendly-than-gores/399085/7 "2007-04-07T23:07:21Z")
[QUOTE=Squink] Course, that’s the President’s _vacation_ home they’re talking about. I wonder what the monthly power bill is at the white house. [/QUOTE] How does that matter? The president doesn’t own the White House, it’s owned by the government. Plus, it’s a historic building, so making any changes would involve a ton of red tape, and possibly an act of Congress. Bush’s ranch in Texas, however, is his private property, and can be built to suit his tastes. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-home-more-eco-friendly-than-gores/399085/8 "2007-04-07T23:34:29Z")
[QUOTE=Diceman] How does that matter? [/QUOTE] Well, if the president cared, he does have the option of making the place where he lives more energy efficient. Has he done anything along those lines? ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2007, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-home-more-eco-friendly-than-gores/399085/9 "2007-04-08T00:28:45Z")
[QUOTE=Squink] Well, if the president cared, he does have the option of making the place where he lives more energy efficient. Has he done anything along those lines? [/QUOTE] He could install solar panels on the White House roof. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2007, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-home-more-eco-friendly-than-gores/399085/10 "2007-04-08T00:59:00Z")
I’m a big Al Gore fan, and I realize that his detractors are simply using this as political fuel against him. The fact remains that now that the facts are out, he needs to correct this problem ASAP. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2007, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-home-more-eco-friendly-than-gores/399085/11 "2007-04-08T01:27:22Z")
[QUOTE=alphaboi867] He could install solar panels on the White House roof. :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] Well there you go. This _is_ MPSIMS, there’s no need to get all " :rolleyes: " about it and everything. You havin a bad day? Give yourself a {{{ hug }}}}! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gentle\_Robot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gentle\_Robot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gentle_Robot)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2007, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-home-more-eco-friendly-than-gores/399085/12 "2007-04-08T01:43:01Z")
I had to pop in and say that Al Gore is definitely [NOT](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0330722/) a filmmaker. Also, frankly, this answers the Q of “Who is he when he’s at home?” and raises the new one “Why the heck isn’t he the same guy when he’s in the White House?” I mean this is great trivia, but if Bush is such a grass-green hippie, why did he back out of the Kyoto Protocol? ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2007, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-home-more-eco-friendly-than-gores/399085/13 "2007-04-08T01:43:37Z")
[QUOTE=Christopher] I’m a big Al Gore fan, and I realize that his detractors are simply using this as political fuel against him. The fact remains that now that the facts are out, he needs to correct this problem ASAP. [/QUOTE] According to the local paper some weeks back, the big hold up on Al getting solar panels on his roof were the zoning laws (which have since been changed, IIRC). [Here’s the _USA Today_ story on it.](http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/globalwarming/2007-03-20-gore-solar_N.htm) > [@](#): > > Zoning rules in Al Gore’s upscale neighborhood kept the former vice president and environmental activist from installing solar panels on his roof. > > Gore bought his multimillion dollar home in 2002 in Belle Meade, an exclusive city encircled by metropolitan Nashville, and he has been ramping up an ambitious renovation ever since. But his contractors ran into a legal barrier last summer when they sought to apply for a permit to install solar panels on the roof. ---
**Author:** ![Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/c4cdca/32.png) [@Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quiddity_Glomfuster)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2007, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-home-more-eco-friendly-than-gores/399085/14 "2007-04-08T01:47:33Z")
> [@](#): > > Gore already purchases enough energy from renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and methane gas to balance 100 percent of his electricity costs. He has been renovating his home but ran into local zoning problems, says [this story](http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/state/article/0,1406,KNS_348_5430566,00.html) , where I got the cite above. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2007, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-home-more-eco-friendly-than-gores/399085/15 "2007-04-08T01:52:39Z")
[QUOTE=Quiddity Glomfuster] He has been renovating his home but ran into local zoning problems, says [this story](http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/state/article/0,1406,KNS_348_5430566,00.html) , where I got the cite above. [/QUOTE] You don’t say. . . ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2007, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-home-more-eco-friendly-than-gores/399085/16 "2007-04-08T01:58:38Z")
So let’s follow the train of logic and see where it takes us. As any true-blooded conservative knows, George Bush is better than Al Gore. Al Gore’s house is not environmental. George Bush’s house is environmental. George Bush’s house is better than Al Gore’s house. Environmental houses are better than non-environmental houses. Environmentalism is a good thing. Wow, who would have suspected we’d end up there! ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2007, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-home-more-eco-friendly-than-gores/399085/17 "2007-04-08T17:05:09Z")
[QUOTE=alphaboi867] He could install solar panels on the White House roof. :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] You obviously don’t know anything about historic structures. The external appearance of the White House must be preserved exactly as it is. Bush cannot just order solar panels to be slapped up on the roof. That’s the rub of living in a historic structure: other people get to decide what your home looks like. Plus, as I said, it’s not his house anyway. He’s just borrowing it for the term of his presidency. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2007, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-home-more-eco-friendly-than-gores/399085/18 "2007-04-08T17:10:23Z")
[QUOTE=Quiddity Glomfuster] He has been renovating his home but ran into local zoning problems, says [this story](http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/state/article/0,1406,KNS_348_5430566,00.html) , where I got the cite above. [/QUOTE] Figures. NIMBYism at its finest. Ted Kennedy would be proud. Notice how even after the zoning laws are changed, Gore will have to make sure he places the solar panels where no one can see them. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2007, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-home-more-eco-friendly-than-gores/399085/19 "2007-04-08T17:13:56Z")
Low energy consumption doesn’t equal eco-friendly. I realise that there’s a meme that says that people who argue for alternate energy sources want us all living in caves, eating bark, but that’s what is known as **propoganda**. Amazingly, it’s possible to be pro-clean energy **and** a fan of mankind’s use of electricity. You can hope that mankind’s energy use increases and _still_ want to use alternate sources of power. Clean Energy =/= Less Energy ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2007, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-home-more-eco-friendly-than-gores/399085/20 "2007-04-08T17:32:43Z")
[QUOTE=Diceman] You obviously don’t know anything about historic structures. The external appearance of the White House must be preserved exactly as it is. Bush cannot just order solar panels to be slapped up on the roof. That’s the rub of living in a historic structure: other people get to decide what your home looks like. Plus, as I said, it’s not his house anyway. He’s just borrowing it for the term of his presidency. [/QUOTE] Jimmy Carter put solar panels on the White House, only to have them removed by Reagan. Also, the balcony on the White House was built under orders of Truman (hence the name “Truman Balcony”) and finally, Nixon was so bothered by the thought that JFK boinked Marilyn Monroe in the White House pool that he had it turned into a bowling alley. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bushs-home-more-eco-friendly-than-gores/399085.md?page=2)