# Gore's house versus GWB's house **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 18, 2008, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gores-house-versus-gwbs-house/453341 "2008-06-18T14:56:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gores-house-versus-gwbs-house/453341/21 "2008-06-18T18:45:49Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] _scoff_ So he was shamed into doing it after having rings run around him by Bush. [/QUOTE] Not unless you think he’s a time traveler. As stated in the article, the remodeling was already in progress when the OP’s “criticisms” came out. ---
**Author:** ![Dumbguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Dumbguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dumbguy)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gores-house-versus-gwbs-house/453341/22 "2008-06-18T18:46:49Z")
In the end credits of Inconvenient Truth there’s a call to action that says something to the effect that we can change the world if we all just pull together and do our part. Apparently when Gore says ‘we’ he actually means ‘you guys. He didn’t talk much about the environment when he still had aspirations to be the President and it wasn’t a popular subject, and he doesn’t seem willing to live his personal life in the manner he’s urging others to. It’s hard for me to avoid the impression that he really cares about the environment just up to the point where it requires him to sacrifice something. Not sure why people feel the need to defend the guy. It’s possible to be pro-environment _and_ think Al Gore is a self-serving douchebag, but I rarely see that combination of positions. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gores-house-versus-gwbs-house/453341/23 "2008-06-18T18:58:48Z")
Wow, this discussion is so six months ago. So I’ll say the same thing I said when this came up back then: Gore’s message is about making the changes you can make within your own life to be more environmentally conscious. Not everyone is going to go full-bore like Ed Begley, Jr., or even go as far as Gore’s renovations, but they can switch to CF bulbs, or drive a little less, or do better with the recycling. Those little changes aren’t going to make that much difference. But once everybody is used to thinking about conserving energy as part of their daily lives it’s easier for the politicians and leaders to make the big changes that _will_ make a difference. So Gore could go live off the land in a shack in the woods, or build some crazy-ass biodome powered by his own feces, but that wouldn’t make him a more effective spokesperson. Instead, he has done what he can where he is with what he has, which is exactly what he would ask the rest of us to do. ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gores-house-versus-gwbs-house/453341/24 "2008-06-18T19:16:30Z")
[QUOTE=Icarus] Actually this is an important point. Bush does not ‘live’ at the ranch. He lives at the White House. Some contend the ranch was purchased as a political move to give him the backdrop of a ‘reg’lar Texan’ to the voters. Once he is out of office, we will see how and where he chooses to live. [/QUOTE] [He bought the place in 1999](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prairie_Chapel_Ranch) and built the house soon after. Unless _he’s_ a time traveler, I have to expect he knew there was a good chance he would be living there. I think the only question post-presidency is whether he will want to move to Dallas to be closer to the presidential library. Also, what the OP doesn’t mention, is that besides the new 4000 sq. ft. Bush house, there is also the original home of the property (4400 sq. ft.), a new guest house of unspecified size, and a double-wide trailer home. None of which I would begrudge him, especially while’s he’s still president, but it’s hardly the spartan life the OP would paint it as. > [@Dumbguy](#): > > Not sure why people feel the need to defend the guy. It’s possible to be pro-environment and think Al Gore is a self-serving douchebag, but I rarely see that combination of positions. It’s also possible to be pro-environment and recognize that the amount of electricity isn’t the problem, the carbon footprint is. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Dave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/46a35a/32.png) [@Great\_Dave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Dave)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gores-house-versus-gwbs-house/453341/25 "2008-06-18T19:45:59Z")
[QUOTE=spifflog] Wow. So I’m free to do whatever I want to the environment, as long as someone else in the world would cause more abuse than I? I understand that if he’s your guy you’ll defend him, but that’s an impressive defense! [/QUOTE] I’m merely pointing out that there are more points to consider. And the fact that he has remodeled the house to LEED- Gold standards is quite impressive. The renovations led to an 11% decrease over the year before, while the rest of Nashville had a 20% increase. ---
**Author:** ![Monocracy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monocracy/32/4493_2.png) [@Monocracy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monocracy)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gores-house-versus-gwbs-house/453341/26 "2008-06-18T20:14:11Z")
The proper comparison would be to compare Gore’s energy usage with the average usage of everyone at the same wealth level. Wealthier people spend more money, so they use more energy. I use a lot more energy than the homeless guy down the street, that doesn’t mean i’m less environmentally conscious than him. I don’t think that Gore has ever suggested that people should live below their means. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gores-house-versus-gwbs-house/453341/27 "2008-06-19T01:05:25Z")
[QUOTE=Monocracy] The proper comparison would be to compare Gore’s energy usage with the average usage of everyone at the same wealth level. Wealthier people spend more money, so they use more energy. I use a lot more energy than the homeless guy down the street, that doesn’t mean i’m less environmentally conscious than him. I don’t think that Gore has ever suggested that people should live below their means. [/QUOTE] Nice. I imagine you would be interested to know that Americans emit less CO2 per unit of GDP than people from Colombia, Malawi, Madagascar, Kenya, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Thailand, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Mongolia. Perhaps the UN needs to crack down on these countries. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gores-house-versus-gwbs-house/453341/28 "2008-06-19T01:16:34Z")
[QUOTE=Dumbguy] In the end credits of Inconvenient Truth there’s a call to action that says something to the effect that we can change the world if we all just pull together and do our part. Apparently when Gore says ‘we’ he actually means ‘you guys. He didn’t talk much about the environment when he still had aspirations to be the President and it wasn’t a popular subject, and he doesn’t seem willing to live his personal life in the manner he’s urging others to. It’s hard for me to avoid the impression that he really cares about the environment just up to the point where it requires him to sacrifice something. Not sure why people feel the need to defend the guy. It’s possible to be pro-environment _and_ think Al Gore is a self-serving douchebag, but I rarely see that combination of positions. [/QUOTE] He released the book Earth in Balance in 1992, That showed an interest in the environment from before the 90’s. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gores-house-versus-gwbs-house/453341/29 "2008-06-19T01:21:23Z")
In one of those :smack: moments I thought from the title this was about Gore Vidal’s "[Off the Grid" misadventures](http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20070702_harnessing_the_sun_leaves_vidal_in_the_dark/) and was wondering who GWB is. (Still interesting reading on the problems one can encounter greening one’s house.) ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gores-house-versus-gwbs-house/453341/30 "2008-06-19T01:24:34Z")
[QUOTE=garygnu] That Snopes article hasn’t been updated recently enough. [Here’s](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22248699/) an article describing some recent improvements to his home’s energy efficiency. [/QUOTE] Geez, you’d think that Gore would have done a better job. Maybe he’s incompetent at picking alternative energy technologies as well, since [his energy usage went up 10% last year](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/2153179/Al-Gore's-electricity-bill-goes-through-the-(insulated)-roof.html). > [@](#): > > But the TCPR branded him a “hypocrite” in February 2007 after discovering that his eight-bathroom house in the Tennessee city consumed nearly 221,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity in the previous year – more than 20 times the national average. > > Mr Gore responded by saying that he was in the process of giving the house a major energy-efficient makeover, fitting solar panels, low energy lightbulbs, and a geothermal heating and cooling system. > > However, the TPCR has got hold of his electricity bill again, this time comparing electricity consumption between the 12 months before June 2007, when it says he installed his new technology, and the year since then. > > It says the figures show the Gore residence uses an average of 17,768 kWh per month –1,638 kWh more energy per month than before the renovations. > > By comparison, the average American household consumes 11,040 kWh in an entire year, according to the Energy Information Administration. What the hell is he doing with all that power? 17,768 kWh? At 720 hours in a month, that means on average he’s consuming 25 kW of power every hour. To put that in perspective, that’s 250 100W light bulbs, or 150-250 desktop computers, or enough air conditioning to condition 17 typical houses, or 50 refrigerators. Every bleemin’ hour. I imagine it’s much higher during the day. Maybe Al’s got a liitle weed grow-op in the basement. Those heaters and gro-lux bulbs eat power like crazy. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gores-house-versus-gwbs-house/453341/31 "2008-06-19T03:58:10Z")
[QUOTE=Sam Stone] What the hell is he doing with all that power? 17,768 kWh? At 720 hours in a month, that means on average he’s consuming 25 kW of power every hour. To put that in perspective, that’s 250 100W light bulbs, or 150-250 desktop computers, or enough air conditioning to condition 17 typical houses, or 50 refrigerators. Every bleemin’ hour. I imagine it’s much higher during the day. Maybe Al’s got a liitle weed grow-op in the basement. Those heaters and gro-lux bulbs eat power like crazy. [/QUOTE] Heh. You see, he’s the leader of an elite team of supernatural trouble shooters, like those portrayed in _Van Helsing_ and _The League of Extra-ordinary Gentlemen_. The extensive workshops in his basement have to function nonstop make all the fancy tool belts, silver stake throwers, and stealth jets to protect you from 500 year old sorcerers bent on bringing on the apoxyclypse. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gores-house-versus-gwbs-house/453341/32 "2008-06-19T05:44:38Z")
[QUOTE=Great Dave] [This](http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/gorehome.asp) is another snopes article that explains Gore’s usage a bit more. While it is true that his house does use a lot of energy, one must look at the bigger picture. Both he and Tipper have their office there, so not only do they save energy by not commuting, but the energy that they would use at an off-site office is used at their residence. [/QUOTE] Save energy by not commuting? He makes his living by flying from place to place to lecture us on why we shouldn’t fly from place to place. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gores-house-versus-gwbs-house/453341/33 "2008-06-19T06:00:17Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] He released the book Earth in Balance in 1992, That showed an interest in the environment from before the 90’s. [/QUOTE] No, that shows he talked about the environment since the 90’s. And nothing has changed. He earns his money talking about a life style he doesn’t conform to. It’s great that he’s finally upgraded his mansion into something that doesn’t require it’s own nuclear power plant. Too bad he didn’t follow his own advise in the 90’s. I guess we can just chalk it up to a permanent case of jet lag. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gores-house-versus-gwbs-house/453341/34 "2008-06-19T06:01:13Z")
[QUOTE=DoctorJ] So Gore could go live off the land in a shack in the woods, or build some crazy-ass biodome powered by his own feces, but that wouldn’t make him a more effective spokesperson. [/QUOTE] Actually, it would. ---
**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:** [June 19, 2008, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gores-house-versus-gwbs-house/453341/35 "2008-06-19T08:20:48Z")
Just like the last time this came up, I’m not seeing how this going against what he preaches in any way. A) Yeah, he uses a lot of energy. It’s coming from a clean source, so who cares? B) When did he ever say that the key goal for humanity should be to live with less electricity and power? “Clean” and “less” are entirely different words, people. I don’t even particularly care for Gore, but this is a stupid argument you all. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gores-house-versus-gwbs-house/453341/36 "2008-06-19T08:25:18Z")
Al Gore’s a tool, next. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gores-house-versus-gwbs-house/453341/37 "2008-06-19T08:26:31Z")
[QUOTE=Shodan] This is like all the politicians flying to the Kyoto green house conference in private jets. No doubt Algore donates enough money to green causes to make this all better. Regards, Shodan [/QUOTE] Carbon credits are just a way to justify gross excess to the plebes. They’re a fucking scam. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gores-house-versus-gwbs-house/453341/38 "2008-06-19T09:30:42Z")
[QUOTE=Sam Stone] What the hell is he doing with all that power? 17,768 kWh? At 720 hours in a month, that means on average he’s consuming 25 kW of power every hour. To put that in perspective, that’s 250 100W light bulbs, or 150-250 desktop computers, or enough air conditioning to condition 17 typical houses, or 50 refrigerators. Every bleemin’ hour. I imagine it’s much higher during the day. [/QUOTE] Well, duh. It takes a lot of watts to run the Internet. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gores-house-versus-gwbs-house/453341/39 "2008-06-19T12:14:36Z")
[QUOTE=mswas] Carbon credits are just a way to justify gross excess to the plebes. They’re a fucking scam. [/QUOTE] Well, yes, obviously - more or less a way of changing the subject when people point out “green” hypocrisy". One wonders what Algore would recommend the government do about people like himself. The only thing I can think of (if we really want to reduce energy use) is to tax him until he cannot afford the house. Then he would have to sell the place (which he couldn’t do - how many people are as rich as Algore? Especially if the place is taxed so as to be too expensive to maintain). IOW, tear down the place and start over. Well, if that is a good idea, why doesn’t he do it without being forced? I suspect that he is like a lot of politicians. All that stuff about how we should reduce our energy use doesn’t apply to _him_ - it applies to the Great Unwashed. The elite - the philosopher kings who rule over the rest of us by divine right - their job is to think enlightened thoughts. Once they’ve done that, the rest of it, and the burden of living them out, belongs to lesser beings. From the earlier cite - > [@](#): > > Gore’s improvements cut the home’s summer electrical consumption by 11 percent compared with a year ago, according to utility records reviewed by The Associated Press. How lovely. Now he uses only eleven times as much as the rest of us. I’m sure the snail darters of the world are breathing a sigh of relief. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gores-house-versus-gwbs-house/453341/40 "2008-06-19T12:27:39Z")
Who’s “Algore”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gores-house-versus-gwbs-house/453341.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gores-house-versus-gwbs-house/453341.md?page=3)