# Mr Gore's Nobel: Like the wife-beater winning for Shelters **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 12, 2007, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-gores-nobel-like-the-wife-beater-winning-for-shelters/422456 "2007-10-12T11:35:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-gores-nobel-like-the-wife-beater-winning-for-shelters/422456/261 "2007-10-16T17:39:01Z")
From [Paul Krugman](http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/15/opinion/15krugman.html?em&ex=1192680000&en=bec1610449387747&ei=5087)\*… > [@](#): > > What is it about Mr. Gore that drives right-wingers insane? > > Partly it’s a reaction to what happened in 2000, when the American people chose Mr. Gore but his opponent somehow ended up in the White House. Both the personality cult the right tried to build around President Bush and the often hysterical denigration of Mr. Gore were, I believe, largely motivated by the desire to expunge the stain of illegitimacy from the Bush administration. > > And now that Mr. Bush has proved himself utterly the wrong man for the job — to be, in fact, the best president Al Qaeda’s recruiters could have hoped for — the symptoms of Gore derangement syndrome have grown even more extreme. - Hope you can use the link; I may have _NYTimes_ cookies on my PC. And, yes, this piece was inspired by the rantings about Gore’s Nobel Prize. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-gores-nobel-like-the-wife-beater-winning-for-shelters/422456/262 "2007-10-16T17:47:43Z")
[QUOTE=Bridget Burke] Don’t feel sad! Kissinger got a Nobel, too. And he’s one of yours! [/QUOTE] One of “mine”? How is that? I’m a member of the Democratic party. So Gore is more “mine” than Kissinger. Or did you mean something else? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-gores-nobel-like-the-wife-beater-winning-for-shelters/422456/263 "2007-10-16T17:53:49Z")
[QUOTE=brazil84] Sorry, but it’s not my responsibility to verify the claims you are making. However, I did do something known as a “google search” and found the following article: [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,254908,00.html](http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,254908,00.html) And here’s the kicker: My bolding. Interesting that Gore’s own spokeswoman apparently didn’t deny this “misinformation” that’s supposedly “unsupported.” [/QUOTE] Wow, I missed this last night. That’s what I get for going to sleep. Your article just quotes the same Tennessee Center for Policy Research, a think tank report. It has one statement that says: > [@](#): > > Kalee Kreider, Gore’s spokeswoman, doesn’t dispute the numbers the report is based on but says the numbers need a little context. However, we don’t get to see what she did say, if she is aware of the actual numbers or anything else, just what Fox cherrypicked. She is not even aware of how many rooms the residence/mansion has. Oh here’s the kicker: > [@](#): > > Asked to explain how the Gores use the amount of electricity they do, Kreider said they have a large family and often host guests. **Both Al and Tipper Gore also have home offices.** And she noted that much of Al Gore’s time is spent trying to bring about awareness to the problem of global warming, which as a byproduct uses carbon-emitting power. Thank you for the assist. Jim ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-gores-nobel-like-the-wife-beater-winning-for-shelters/422456/264 "2007-10-16T18:04:14Z")
> [@](#): > > However, we don’t get to see what she did say, if she is aware of the actual numbers or anything else, just what Fox cherrypicked. She is not even aware of how many rooms the residence/mansion has. So what? You are claiming that I’m spreading misinformation by repeating the statement that Gore’s gas bills average $1000 per month. Looks to me like your claim is wrong. You certainly haven’t proven it. All you’ve done is speculate. Looks to me like you are the one who is spreading misinformation. > [@](#): > > Thank you for the assist. So the self-serving claim by Gore’s spokesman has a “home office” lets you infer that he doesn’t regularly commute to his office in Nashville? ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-gores-nobel-like-the-wife-beater-winning-for-shelters/422456/265 "2007-10-16T18:11:18Z")
So if everyone buys carbon credits we can solve global warming? Sweet! Where do I sign up? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-gores-nobel-like-the-wife-beater-winning-for-shelters/422456/266 "2007-10-16T18:11:24Z")
[QUOTE=brazil84] So what? You are claiming that I’m spreading misinformation by repeating the statement that Gore’s gas bills average $1000 per month. Looks to me like your claim is wrong. You certainly haven’t proven it. All you’ve done is speculate. Looks to me like you are the one who is spreading misinformation. So the self-serving claim by Gore’s spokesman has a “home office” lets you infer that he doesn’t regularly commute to his office in Nashville? [/QUOTE] I gave you my cite, you are welcome to look it up and find out if I am wrong. I would still like to see an undisputed figure that did not originate from the Tennessee Center for Policy Research. I don’t claim anything about the office except that it is a silly side issue and really doesn’t matter and oh to weaken your position, the anti-Gore News Agency Fox even printed that he maintains a home office. You apparently stick by the idea he is somehow a hypocrite, despite modernizing his house, buying Green energy and carbon offsets. Jim ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-gores-nobel-like-the-wife-beater-winning-for-shelters/422456/267 "2007-10-16T19:37:07Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] I gave you my cite, you are welcome to look it up and find out if I am wrong. [/quote] Sorry, but it’s not my responsibility. > [@](#): > > I would still like to see an undisputed figure that did not originate from the Tennessee Center for Policy Research. If Gore’s spokeswoman doesn’t dispute the figures, then as far as I’m concerned, they are undisputed. If you want to dispute them, the burden is on you to get the actual gas bills, which I imagine you could do by filing a freedom of information request with whatever utility handles Bell Mead, Tennessee. As I said, it looks to me like you are the one who is spreading misinformation. > [@](#): > > I don’t claim anything about the office except that it is a silly side issue and really doesn’t matter and oh to weaken your position, the anti-Gore News Agency Fox even printed that he maintains a home office. I believe that earlier in this thread, one of Gore’s defenders tried to justify his profligate use of energy by speculating that he works from home, thereby not using energy to commute. Having a home office is not the same thing as not commuting. I have a computer, desk, file drawer, and fax machine at home which I could call a “home office” if I wanted to. And I do work from home once in a while. But I still commute a lot. > [@](#): > > You apparently stick by the idea he is somehow a hypocrite, despite modernizing his house, buying Green energy and carbon offsets. It seems pretty likely to me that he’s a hypocrite. Even if he’s not, he still sets a bad example. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-gores-nobel-like-the-wife-beater-winning-for-shelters/422456/268 "2007-10-16T19:39:41Z")
[QUOTE=marshmallow] So if everyone buys carbon credits we can solve global warming? Sweet! Where do I sign up? [/QUOTE] There’s a tree in my front yard that my wife wants me to cut down. However, if you pay me 10 bucks, I won’t cut it down. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-gores-nobel-like-the-wife-beater-winning-for-shelters/422456/269 "2007-10-16T19:48:32Z")
[QUOTE=brazil84] I believe that earlier in this thread, one of Gore’s defenders tried to justify his profligate use of energy by speculating that he works from home, thereby not using energy to commute. Having a home office is not the same thing as not commuting. I have a computer, desk, file drawer, and fax machine at home which I could call a “home office” if I wanted to. And I do work from home once in a while. But I still commute a lot. [/QUOTE] And having an office since before he has the house, did nothing to prove that he does commute or has in the last 5 years. Provide some actual proof or better yet, drop this sidebar. In fact as we know he travels by air, often and has a home office, he probably visits this office far less than a commuter would. Jim ---
**Author:** ![stolichnaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@stolichnaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolichnaya)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-gores-nobel-like-the-wife-beater-winning-for-shelters/422456/270 "2007-10-16T19:58:54Z")
::constructs huge windfarm between brazil84 and WhatExit?:: ::sits back with iced tea:: ::collects Nobel Prize:: ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-gores-nobel-like-the-wife-beater-winning-for-shelters/422456/271 "2007-10-16T20:01:51Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] And having an office since before he has the house, did nothing to prove that he does commute or has in the last 5 years. Provide some actual proof or better yet, drop this sidebar. [/quote] Sorry, but you have the burden of proof. He has a home in Bell Mead and an office in Nashville, which is 3 or 4 miles away. Common sense says that he travels between those two locations on a regular basis. > [@](#): > > In fact as we know he travels by air, often and has a home office, he probably visits this office far less than a commuter would. You can speculate as much as you like, but any way you cut it, Gore consumes a lot of energy. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-gores-nobel-like-the-wife-beater-winning-for-shelters/422456/272 "2007-10-16T20:09:55Z")
[QUOTE=brazil84] Sorry, but you have the burden of proof. He has a home in Bell Mead and an office in Nashville, which is 3 or 4 miles away. Common sense says that he travels between those two locations on a regular basis. You can speculate as much as you like, but any way you cut it, Gore consumes a lot of energy. [/QUOTE] No burden of proof on me. Sorry, nice try. Yes, Gore consumes a lot of Energy. However, Gore has installed Solar, is installing Geo-thermal and does the bulk of his travel to increase awareness of AGW and is actually succeeding. You say hypocrite, I say hard working dedicated Mensch. [QUOTE=stolichnaya] ::constructs huge windfarm between brazil84 and WhatExit?:: ::sits back with iced tea:: ::collects Nobel Prize:: [/QUOTE] 😃 Ah, if only it was that easy, there would be enough windbags on both sides of this debate to power the entire world. 😉 I find it a little ironic that **brazil84** is a Democrat and I am a Republican. It seems like we are both mixed up. Thank you for the levity. Jim ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-gores-nobel-like-the-wife-beater-winning-for-shelters/422456/273 "2007-10-16T20:15:47Z")
Why are you ignoring the fact that the [Gores](http://wkrn.com/nashville/news/controversy-surrounds-al-gores-energy-use/80305.htm) signed up for [TVA’s Green Power Switch](http://www.tva.gov/greenpowerswitch/) program? > [@WKRN TV](#): > > The TVA runs several facilities across the state to make green power. > > Wind power comes from a modern day windmill plant on Buffalo Mountain near Oak Ridge. > > The TVA has 16 sites that gather solar power. > > The sites include the Adventure Science Center in Nashville, Dollywood in east Tennessee, and as far away as the University of Mississippi in Oxford. He pays higher electric rates because he’s part of a program that subsidizes the development of greenhouse-gas-free power generation. He could pay a cheaper rate, but he doesn’t. How is that not putting your money where your mouth is? ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-gores-nobel-like-the-wife-beater-winning-for-shelters/422456/274 "2007-10-16T20:18:24Z")
[QUOTE=brazil84] You can speculate as much as you like, but any way you cut it, Gore consumes a lot of energy. [/QUOTE] Gore’s stance has never been about **how much** energy one consumes but **what kind** of energy one consumes. A hybrid SUV is better than a gas-guzzling SUV. A large house with solar is better than a large house without. He’s never advocated reducing consumption entirely and thus giving up one’s lifestyle, only using cleaner energy to drive that lifestyle. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-gores-nobel-like-the-wife-beater-winning-for-shelters/422456/275 "2007-10-16T20:42:22Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] No burden of proof on me. Sorry, nice try. [/quote] Let’s see . . . Gore’s defenders are free to sit back, speculate, and cook up whatever common-sense-defying scenarios they feel like in order to justify his conduct; and Gore’s critics have the burden of disproving those scenarios? Is that how things work in your world? Hey, maybe Rush Limbaugh has been sneaking into the Bell Mead mansion and running the heating and air conditioning at the same time in order to run up the gas and electric bills and make Gore look bad! Now prove me wrong!!! > [@](#): > > does the bulk of his travel to increase awareness of AGW Cite? Or is the burden on me to prove that he has travelled extensively for other purposes? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-gores-nobel-like-the-wife-beater-winning-for-shelters/422456/276 "2007-10-16T20:47:13Z")
[QUOTE=brazil84] Cite? [/QUOTE] Got me on that one, I cannot cite it. So draw your own conclusions instead. I do not know of a single study on Al Gore’s travel. You still insist he commutes to the office. That infers daily trips, as in four-five times per week. I think the burden is on you to cite this. I am pretty sure you will be no more capable of providing a cite for his commute than I can for his Air Travel. Your supposition seems illogical to me based on his notorious air travel and the now established fact that he does indeed have a home office. Jim ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-gores-nobel-like-the-wife-beater-winning-for-shelters/422456/277 "2007-10-16T21:43:52Z")
[QUOTE=Bosstone] Gore’s stance has never been about **how much** energy one consumes but **what kind** of energy one consumes. [/quote] Then how do you explain this quote: > [@](#): > > Gore lives a strict carbon-neutral lifestyle both in his work and private life. That means he tries to reduce his emissions as much as possible, and then purchases carbon offsets for the remaining emissions. ? ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-gores-nobel-like-the-wife-beater-winning-for-shelters/422456/278 "2007-10-16T21:44:58Z")
[QUOTE=vibrotronica] Why are you ignoring the fact that the [Gores](http://wkrn.com/nashville/news/controversy-surrounds-al-gores-energy-use/80305.htm) signed up for [TVA’s Green Power Switch](http://www.tva.gov/greenpowerswitch/) program? [/quote] Does the Green Power Switch program cover natural gas and jet fuel? ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-gores-nobel-like-the-wife-beater-winning-for-shelters/422456/279 "2007-10-16T21:51:35Z")
Forget it Jake, it’s [del]Chinatown[/del] Al Gore. ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-gores-nobel-like-the-wife-beater-winning-for-shelters/422456/280 "2007-10-16T21:59:55Z")
[QUOTE=brazil84] Does the Green Power Switch program cover natural gas and jet fuel? [/QUOTE] So you agree that it does cover his home power usage? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-gores-nobel-like-the-wife-beater-winning-for-shelters/422456.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-gores-nobel-like-the-wife-beater-winning-for-shelters/422456.md?page=15)