But, was Al Gore chosen, or did he simply choose himself? It is not like the Green Party went to him and begged him to represent them. Hell the Green Party did go to Ralph Nader and beg him.
Gore chose to make this his fight. He has done a very good job so far, despite sniping from people like you.
That is really and truly great, I hope more people find a way to use mass transit, but it is not fair to go after **Sarafeena ** if she does not. Many people do not have the circumstances to commute by mass transit.
My wife and I both work. I have a long commute and she has a short commute. This was why we chose the location of our home. We have virtually no mass transit in my areas unless you are commuting to NYC or Newark.
Again, I think it is great when anyone looks for anyway to do more than there share, but for most people in the US, Mass Transit is woefully unavailable.
My solution will be to buy a small, efficient, very low emissions, hybrid or plug-in hybrid in another two years when I run my Ford Focus past 140,000 miles.
My wife will probably run her vehicle another 5-7 years and by that time, will probably have an fully electric car as an option.
I’m already doing that, as I thought I implied in my post. There’s more to “environmental” stocks than recycled toilet paper. Another one I hold is Energy Conversion Devices (ENER) - not as spectacular as WFMI, but it’s tripled since 2000 (more than that if I had sold a couple of years ago). You can confirm that I am not making this up by searching my posts from years back - I have mentioned all of these in investing advice threads right here.
Here’s a tip - try ABB, a Swedish company that makes high eficiency motors and technology that reduces energy loss between power plants and end users.
Of course no one is perfect…everybody could most likely do more. My point, though, was that a lot of people could probably do a LOT more…that is, they aren’t doing anything at all. You & I might be making some effort (see my post #159 for some of the things we do in our family to try to cut back on energy use…we are looking into solar panels for the house, as well). But I’ll bet there are many, many more people who don’t do anything. Does this make you and me somehow morally superior to these other people? I don’t think so. What I do think is that people get mixed messages about how dangerous global warming is. If the most fervent advocate for reducing greenhouse gases doesn’t seem to be doing his part to reduce them, I can see why some people decide that maybe the problem isn’t that bad.
See, my problem with Al Gore isn’t a MORAL one, exactly. I think he could use a lot less energy. So could a lot of people, especially rich people. And, for all the talk in this thread and others about how I supposedly hate him and want to smear him, I really don’t. I mean, generally speaking, I can’t stand politicians, of the left OR right variety. Most of them are self-aggrandizing, power-hungry, and corrupt, in my opinion. I consider Al Gore to be one of the better ones, to be quite honest. My problem with him is twofold: 1) I think that educating people about global warming is important, and if he walked the walk a little bit more, he would be a much more effective spokes person for it, IMO. and 2) This one isn’t as important, but it’s the one that makes me the most irritated. It’s that he is given a pass because he is rich and powerful, and I think that’s bullshit. He doesn’t need to fly around in private jets…I don’t care if he is going all over the world to talk about this. Plenty of people have to fly around and still manage to do it on commercial airlines. He doesn’t need to live in a huge house…plenty of people get by with 4, 6, or 8 rooms, which is still pretty damn luxurious compared to how a lot of the world lives. For a party of people who generally tend not to cut the rich any slack, the Democrats sure seem to give him a major pass on all this.
I’m afraid I can’t…there’s no public transport that goes from where I live to where I work. Wish I could, though…the traffic alone is reason enough to! My husband does when he’s working in the city. This isn’t the best area for us to try to cut back on energy use, so we are concentrating our efforts around the house.
Google searching for this one is a nightmare with all the recent news, but Gore has said that he flies commercial when it’s possible. Most of the claims that he doesn’t are just assumptions, as far as I can see.
Funny, for me, it’s ALWAYS possible, given that I don’t have any other choice. Take away all the private jets in the world, and I’m sure he could find a way to get around.
That is bullshit. Pure unadulterated bullshit. He’s earned a “pass” because, unlike your repeated claims, he does exactly what he asks others to do - leave a carbon neutral footprint. He apparently purchases more green electricity than he uses, and he offsets the rest of his carbon emissons through investing in carbon reducing activities. It is far from an indulgence that exists solely on paper.
You don’t like that he is able to purchase offsets? Tough shit. Just quit lying about what he does do and what he asks of other people.
Well, the extent to which the Democrats don’t cut the rich any slack has been way oversold by the Republicans. By modern Republican logic, if you are not willing to do everything possible to cut taxes on the rich then you are a socialist who hates the rich.
As for Gore, I don’t think he has ever been saying that we are going to cut greenhouse gas emissions by dramatic personal sacrifices. He has been arguing that what is necessary are some sort of caps on emissions or carbon taxes so that the market incentives exist to use less, primarily by developing new technologies.
Sarafeena, neither you nor I have the demands for travel that Al Gore or many other movers and shakers have. I will probably never fly 1st class in my life as I am too cheap. I will never charter a plane, but I don’t begrudge Al Gore the ability to make 5 appointments around the US or even the world in a very short period of time by not having to put up with the BS of flying that you and I have to.
It sure beats using private jets just to campaign for office. At least it is for a positive purpose. I guess I would be a lot more upset if he was racing a cigarette boat and commuting to his office in a Hummer. At this point, the flights are part of his job. He drives a hybrid. He did add Solar Panels and he had to work with the town to get them in and now that he led the way, other rich folk in his town might do the same.
I think you are holding him to an unreasonable standard. BY the way, I am cutting him a lot of slack, but I am also not a Dem. I am a Republican*, probably one of the few on this board, still planning to vote for Rudy.
“Carbon neutral footprints” gained by invesing in carbon-reducing activities are what is pure, unadulterated bullshit. If it makes him feel better about his consumption level to plant some trees, than I’m glad for him.
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I could purchase offsets, too. IN FACT, I could reduce my consumptions AND buy offsets, as could he.
See, the thing is, I don’t think what I’m asking of him is a “dramatic personal sacrifice.” Living in a 8-room house? That’s a dramatic personal sacrifice, really? I think it would say volumes if he would just try to live like regular people.
Sure, Hentor, that’s just what I said. I want him to live in a cave. If you don’t have a 20-room house, your only other option is a cave. You know, YOU are the one who is waging a smear campaign, here.
Cite? There are certainly criticisms of carbon offsets–mostly based on time lag issues and the nature of the electricity grid–but AFAICT none of these criticisms reduce them to “unadulterated bullshit.”
This is where you leave “he should be a model” and enter “he should be perfect.” If his carbon footprint is zero, or slightly below, he is a model.
I don’t know, Jim…I still think he could bring it down a few notches. But, my point is made, and I don’t feel like participating in this thread any longer…it seems to be bringing out the worst in some people, including myself. I do appreciate your reasonableness and support. You ARE cool.
One of the reasons for my frustration is that she does know all this stuff. We went over it in much greater detail when they were trying to smear him about the movie itself. See the old thread here.
These folks do already know this stuff, but it doesn’t matter.
Forget it, Jake. It’s [del]Chinatown[/del] Al Gore.
Remember that when Gore flies, he doesn’t fly by himself. I’m sure he has a decent-sized staff to help him do what he does, not to mention a security detail. If you have a dozen people traveling with you, it might not make that much less sense to take a small charter jet than to all fly commercial.
And here’s the problem…he could always do more. No matter how much alternative energy he uses, no matter how much he reduces or offsets, people who want an excuse to ignore what he says will always say he can do more. At least until he goes beyond what any reasonable person could be expected to do (that is, into Ed Begley, Jr.* territory), when they’ll just write him off as a kook.
Maybe you and some of the people in this thread could eventually be satisfied without Gore moving into a mud hut. But the people who have been pushing this tack will never be.
I hate to keep bringing Ed into the fray, because I certainly support his dedication to the environment and respect what he does. But he’s a great illustration of how someone can go so far in “walking the walk” that it hurts his status as a spokesman.
Take away all the private jets in the world, and I’m sure he could find a way to get around.