The grass is always greener

John Brak — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 04:01:04 GMT

Will, you may already realize the significance of the beer launcher, but I'd like to point out that for 10 beers I would approximate at most 15 ounces of beer lost. Leverage that against the 418 joules of energy expended to retrieve the beer... I don't even know how much energy that is, but A) it was definitely an energy saver and B) if you don't know if it saved you energy... you can always ask the beer launcher.

The grass is always greener

Eduardo Martinez Perham Minnesota — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 04:25:55 GMT

Do as I say Not as I do I know what's best For all of you. Algore

The grass is always greener

scalpod, Portland, OR — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 14:11:53 GMT

I don't practice what I preach either. Mostly because I'm not the kind of person I'm preaching to... /not being sarcastic

The grass is always greener

JP — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 16:00:42 GMT

You need to watch the Countdown. The "independent" think tank publishing the Al Gore energy use statistics is in reality a right-wing propaganda machine. And Gore only pays more than average on his energy bill because his house is way larger than average, and because he voluntarily pays extra for greener services. But that report conveniently leaves those facts out. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/

The grass is always greener

Neill C. Montgomery, Alabama — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 16:09:35 GMT

It IS easy to confuse the message with the messenger, but it also goes to an argument of "Well, since I'm rich, I can get away with polluting. You're not as rich as me so give up your cars and any habits I deem to be polluting." It just isn't as strong a message if the perception (and in this case perception = reality) is that you are a hypocrite.

The grass is always greener

Michael Hubbard, Santa Fe, Texas — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 16:22:12 GMT

Gore is a fraud, a fake, and a very dishonest man. Even with his buying carbon offsets.. he should be doing more, considering what he is demanding the world do in comparison. Don't use "energy saving tactics" Gore... sacrifice, like you want us to, and just don't use energy. I hope to God the environmentalists turn against you. You're a joke.

The grass is always greener

Neill C. Montgomery, Alabama — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 16:28:14 GMT

Um, if he was truly worried the environment, then wouldn't he live in a smaller house? If the survival of the planet really hinged on us reducing our carbon footprint, wouldn't he reduce it as much as possible, instead of buying carbon footprint credits and calling that a creditable way of doing his part?

The grass is always greener

Andrew McChase — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 16:47:30 GMT

Gore was born in D.C. not Tenn. lived in a hotel there all his life, and at a "green" day event in Oakland CA. he drove up in a Prius but his staff drove up in 3 Continentials (as reported by the S.F. Chronicle), so the guy lives a life of untruths.

The grass is always greener

Glenn Phillips, Longview, TX — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 17:00:10 GMT

Al Gore admits he is a hypocrite in his book "Earth in the Balance" , p. 15.

The grass is always greener

Neal, Orrville OH — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 17:05:25 GMT

Amen to Michael Hubbard & Neil Montgomery. If you are going to preach it you had better practice it. I don't care if you live in a bigger house and have more money, if you are going to preach green you had better be doing everything you can yourself first. The one thing that grinds my gears the most is to hear those who want everyone else to be so saving of the earth. And what are they doing? Jetting around in private planes, owning several homes, and many more cars than any of the rest of us can even begin to afford.

The grass is always greener

Will Femia — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 17:06:10 GMT

JP, I've seen that pointed out everywhere (did you see Colbert last night?), and that's sort of what I meant about scratching your head about the source of the report, but it sounds like he really does consume that many kilowatt hours. From what I've read (http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007702270382), he paid extra for green energy, so his bill is inflated, but it doesn't sound like he purchased more energy than he actually uses.
Again, I don't really care. I mean, in a way I'm curious how a mansion's energy is spent. Does he have fountains or something? Has he been holding private screenings of his movie in some kind of theater built in the home? But that's more of a celebrity curiosity than anything that has to do with the environment. Of course Republicans (and probably a whole phalanx of special interests) are attacking Gore and using weird faux think-tanks to do it. But that's politics, not ecology or meteorology or biology.

The grass is always greener

John, Portland OR — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 17:14:07 GMT

You need to report the whole truth. All of the electrical power for Gore's house comes from zero-carbon emission sources (wind, sun, etc). As a result, it doesn't matter how much energy he uses....his house is not contributing to the problem of global warming. He then uses carbon offsets to offset his vehicle use and airline travel. State the full story so that you educate people instead of trying to indoctrinate them.

The grass is always greener

William K. Lawrence — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 17:14:27 GMT

This is just another anti-environmental, pro-war Republican smear of a good man on a great mission. Gore only pays more than average on his energy bill because he voluntarily pays extra for greener services like wind power. But that right wing report conveniently leaves those facts out. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/

The grass is always greener

Jan Laws, Divide, CO — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 17:19:57 GMT

What I am getting from the various reports on how Al Gore manages his use of energy and contribution to the greenhouse gases is...Use all the energy you want, but contribute money to an eco charity or technology company labeled as a "carbon offset." So if we all did this, there would not be any less greenhouse gas emissions but the eco charities and technology companies would be making a killing. Let's see some REAL committment to this. He hasn't sold me because he is just buying his way out. He can make his presentation all he wants BUT just ISN'T a PRACTICING ENVIRONMENTALIST and isn't one of us.

The grass is always greener

Dan E, Chicago, IL — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 17:24:20 GMT

I've always thought that Carbon offsets were kind of silly. I mean isn't like, "Well I mean I DID burn down a bunch of rainforest but its cool...I totally donated some cash to greenpeace." It would seem to me that harm is harm. If you help out in some other way, it doesn't change the fact that you've caused harm. Of course I don't believe in the predicted disastors of "Global Warming" anyway.

The grass is always greener

Davi Wayne-Disney — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 17:27:09 GMT

The problem here is that it depends on how Al Gore is buying the so-called "offsets". Is he buying them specifically as "offsets" from a reputable Charity that is using the money to buy so-called "carbon emmissions certificates" that is then actually "retiring" those certificats so they can never be resold (possible at a hugh profit) later,, or is he buying the emmissions certificates personally? If he is buying them personally ,, is he retiring them so they can't be sold again later,, or is he holding them to resell in the future?

The grass is always greener

bill reynolds, new smyrna beach, florida — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 17:33:44 GMT

Gore is another example of "no man's perfect. Most good people try, a few succeed. It is amazing how hard we are on people trying. Most of us are sitting on our tokas, fat, eating and listening to the tv in the background. Hmmm two cars in the garage...oh door is open, turn down the heat. oh well, who said humans were the caretakers of this good earth?

The grass is always greener

Paula, Warminster PA — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 17:51:21 GMT

At least Al Gore is doing something...How about you? Worse case scenerio here is that we make our air a little cleaner for our children and grandchildren. In my opinion Global Warming is a significant threat or its not and if it is we need to fix it NOW and if it's not, well all we've done is cleaned up the air for future generations. We need to change our mindset from having what we want when we want it to we have enough, how can we help our kids, our grandkids, our planet...It's rediculous to me that we've made such a big deal out of if Global Warming really exist or not-who cares? Let's pretend it does, fix it and harm no one except big oil producers and those who profit from their campaign contributions(by the way, going green will reduce our dependancy on foriegn oil-BONUS!!!) Stop debating and start doing!!!

The grass is always greener

Daniel Roque, Boston, MA — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 17:56:46 GMT

Attacking the messenger is idiotic, there is a bigger issue at hand and that is global warming. I could care less who delivers that message as long as the bigger picture is shown and focused on. It's funny how we easily call other people hypocrites when we ourselves are not doing what we should. Nobody is perfect, not one of us, don't try to demand perfection out of imperfect beings.

The grass is always greener

Will Femia — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 17:56:56 GMT

Jan, what you're missing in that scenario is that when eco charities and technolgoy companies make a killing, they move us as a society toward a greener existence. It's not like when the military industrial complex is making a killing or the oil industry is making a killing. If a solar or wind power company is prospering, that's good news.

Something that gets lost in the discussion (if you can call it that) of change on a personal level is how effective that is in the big picture. While this Gore thing may be a distraction from the actual issue of environmentalism, to what degree is "personal change" also a distraction? Part of the point of offsets is that if we really want to change the world we have to do it at a macro, industrial level.

The grass is always greener

Ed P. — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 18:01:54 GMT

Nashville Electric Service/Gore House
2006
High 22619 kWh Aug – Sept
Low 12541 kWh Jan - Feb
Average: 18,414 kWh per month

2005
High 20532 Sept - October
Low 12955 Feb - March
Average: 16,200 kWh per month

Bill amounts
2006 – $895.60 (low) $1738.52 (high) $1359 (average)
2005 – $853.91 (low) $1461 (high)

Nashville Gas Company
Main House
2006 – $990(high) $170 (low) $536 (average)
2005 – $1080 (high) $200 (low) $640 (average)

Guest House/Pool House
2006 – $820 (high) $70 (low) $544 (average)
2005 – $1025 (high) $25 (low) $525 (average)

As reported in the Grudge Report. Looks very hypocritical to me. But then this is the Holywood scene where they were getting freebies for years and not paying taxes on any of it. While they always tell the general public we should pay more - taxes, contributions, etc. whatever.

The grass is always greener

m. allen — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 18:16:59 GMT

NATIVE ENERGY is the wind energy company linked to the "An Inconvenient Truth" website. The carbon offsets that Gore and others like him purchase do not go to "Charity". Purchasing a carbon offset from Native Energy goes directly to the Capital Cash Account for the purchase of new wind turbines and/or methane recovery projects. Those are the facts.

The grass is always greener

Mel Harris, Atlanta, GA — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 18:18:24 GMT

Gore and the Hollywood sycophants are all still hypocrites. Carbon offsets? Gimme a break. These rich people can buy "offsets" and want the rest of us to travel on public transportation and reduce our lifestyle so they can feel good and raise our taxes. The UN has already proposed a carbon tax on us.

The grass is always greener

Neill C. Montgomery, Alabama — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 18:34:02 GMT

Pointing out the hypocrisy isn't attacking Gore, it is just stating the obvious. It is a well known debating tactic to claim a person is atacking the messenger to squelch debate. By his own admission he says he is buying carbon offsets to "reduce his carbon footprint". If he were really serious, if our survival really depended on it, he would eschew buying offsets and just reduce his carbon footprint.

I drive a Kia. I'd be willing to bet my footprint/person is much smaller than his.

Successful leaders practice what they preach. He isn't doing that. By his own admission. Buying offsets is not "good custodianship" of the environment, it just passes the buck off somewhere else. If these offsets TRULY reduce carbon then just think how much more it would be reduced if he just decreased his footprint whether he bought the offsets or not.

Good grief, the "Goose that lay the golden egg" mentality here is frightening.

The grass is always greener

Fred A. Seattle, WA — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 18:37:20 GMT

You can say that Al gore is boring and dull, but you can't say that he is full of "it" when it comes to his passion for doing what is right for the environment. All or most of the energy that he uses in his manssion comes from green energy sources. Being a capitalist, I also can't fault him for having a manssion...but it soulds like some feel he's a hypocrite for all of the "things" he owns. Is it his fault that he has been successful in life? I'm so turned off with the whole political state we're in. I mean, EVERYTHING turns into a political statement. "Let's do something to make the environment safe for our children, and our children's children".....Well, NO. Not when it's Al Gore, or ANYONE on the "other side" suggesting it. What exactly is the problem with changing our ways in order to have a cleaner envornment? Can someone PLEASE explain this to me? Is it just because the wrong party is for this? This goes for the other side too! For the war...against the war. SHUT UP and make desisions based on fact and what's best for America's interests instead of what is going to get you re-elected. When are we going to wake up as a country and make our representatives responsible for their actions. Forget about labels. It's ok to disagree, but let's not forget this basic fact! WE ARE ALL AMERICANS!!!! This isn't a football game...this is real life. One side losing just because the other one had good talking point's doesn't just mean that one side lost. It could mean that we all lose in the end!

The grass is always greener

m. allen — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 19:03:52 GMT

Vice President Gore is doing YOUR KIDS a favor. Buying green power is the first positive step towards stabilizing the climate and making the world a safer place for the next generation. Vice-President Gore is doing the right thing, which is far more than all the conservatives attacking him on this post.

The grass is always greener

Paul, Alamo, CA — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 19:06:39 GMT

Al Gore is not suggesting we "sacrifice" or live in small houses. That is the propaganda of those against his message. We did not "sacrifice" when the ozone hole was connected to Freon - we simply moved away from using Freon. Yes, it was more expensive at 1st and yes, people like Al Gore made that move faster than most of us (at extra cost), but that is how it usually works. Credits help to fund new technology and infrastructure costs that overall benefit everyone by driving down the prices. Equally, those who buy a Hybrid car now (at a premium of $3K to $5K) are funding the next steps and the wide availability at no/low extra cost. So, people need to gain some perspective about how to read "attacks" like this.

The grass is always greener

Jan Laws, Divide, CO — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 19:33:44 GMT

Ok,I do give Gore credit for his efforts. He stated that he is having solar panels installed. He must be really investing a lot, because he plans to produce enough electrcity to sell to the grid. I think THIS is what we expect of the person who is making $150,000 per presentation on his Global Warming speech. We have to be able to drive by his HOMES and see that he IS a practicing environmentalist. He is in the hot seat. He has put himself in a position that lame excuses for ANY excessive production of greenhouse gases is unacceptable. He can't say, "Sorry but my life style requires this." No he has to set the standard and buying his way out is not acceptable.

The grass is always greener

Frank L. Harrisburg PA — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 19:44:10 GMT

Hypocrisy is always relevant. It must be nice to be rich and have the disposable income to buy your way to being carbon neutral. The rest of us don't have that ability. It's no different than all those far right christian fundamentalist preachers who tell everyone how to live and then go out and break quite a few of the commandments themselves. Hello Jim and Tammy Fae and Jimmy Swaggert! It doesn't mean that his message isn't true. It does mean that he thinks that he is special and can live by special rules that don't apply to everyone else. Tha does make him a hypocrite.

The grass is always greener

Green — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 20:15:49 GMT

One trip past the Van Nuys Airport on Oscar night would have tipped a few folks off. The Kerosene that Al burned on his jet coming into LA and back on one round trip would run a dozen cars for 5 years. Al does not fly on commercial airlines and even the most typical wide body corporate jet (G-IV/G-III) burns 415 Gallons Per Hour and emits 8,785 pounds of Carbon Dioxide per hour. As Vice President, he was cruising on a Boeing 757..... Emission neutrality?

The grass is always greener

Thomas Ashby, Calgary — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 20:24:33 GMT

I sure don't know why they need a 10,000 sq. ft. home...kinda obscene anyway you cut it.

The grass is always greener

doug, detroit, mi — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 20:28:46 GMT

that smart car may have ended up less damaged than expected, but all occupants would be very very dead due to massive internal trauma. in fact, even with enormous crush spaces, it would be tough to survive a 70 mph head-on accident. that impact was most definitely deadly.

The grass is always greener

Michael, Houston, TX — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 20:30:47 GMT

Another detail missing from the "public interest group" smearing of Gore is that he runs a home office and has to have 24 hr security detail because of his former VP status. Having people at your house all day every day runs up the home electricity bill big time. The dollar value of his bill is inflated because he pays more per kilowatt voluntarily by signing onto a renewable resource only power provider. You can't smear him for flying on jets either because his public role requires that he be all over the place on a day to day basis. At least his carbon offsets do something about it. I don't like Gore as a person or president, but he is sincere in his environmental efforts. I trust his sincerity much more than a so-called think tank funded by people that don't even believe in global warming.

The grass is always greener

Summer, Seattle, WA — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 20:37:55 GMT

It's so very easy for people to say "well, he's not doing it, so why should I?" But that's not the point, and that's what Will means when he says that it's very easy to confuse the message with the messenger. What is it that your mom used to tell you? "And if everyone else jumped off a bridge, would you too?" The point is, everyone should be doing what they can to preserve the planet, whether you're one individual or a giant corporation. I mean, when you have to deal with "smog reports" that tell you it's a bad idea to go out on a certain day because the air quality is so bad, that's ridiculous! OBVIOUSLY we're doing something negative to the environment. Whether you believe in global warming or not is not the point, the point is, you make choices everyday that affects the environment NOW and ALSO in the future. Why is that so hard for people to grasp? We already have serious issues with pollution, so there is no excuse for not doing SOMETHING to lessen your impact. Pointing out that the spokesperson for energy conservation uses a lot of energy does NOT get YOU off the hook! It's your planet too! YOU are responsible for it!

The grass is always greener

David, Ft Lauderdale, Florida — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 21:09:02 GMT

Based on the "available" data, it looks like the house electrical consumption is significantly above normal. At 18,000 kW-Hr/Month, that works out to an average load of about 25 kilowatts. Spread across a 10,000 square foot house (pretty big), that works out to about 2.5 watts per square foot. By way of comparison, my 2500 square foot house in South Florida consumes about 3000 hW-Hr/month, which works out to about 4.1 kW and 1.5 watts per square foot. Setting aside the "big house" vs. "small house" debate, still begs the questions of what's going on in that house to drive consumption so far above normal.

The grass is always greener

Monroe A., Short Mills, NJ — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 21:35:38 GMT

If the people who consumed an average 15,600KW-hr consumed it on the same basis as Gore, namely, 191,000 divided by 10,000 sq. ft., their homes would be 816 sq ft. Using the other data, 221,000/10k is 706 sq. ft. Not a very big house. Maybe, they are the wasteful users. Actually, making a ratio based on the volume of air heated or cooled would be more meaningful, but no data was given with which to calculate it.

The grass is always greener

alias — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 21:53:14 GMT

First, I don't care if Al Gore's house is big and costs alot to power. If he pays for it, good on him. This is America folks, land where you have the ability to choose. You can choose to live in a big, power hungry house. You can choose to drive a big fuel hungry SUV. You can choose to leave the lights on all the time if you want. As long as you can pay for it, it's yours. Period. No excuses. Is global warming real? Sure it is. But coal burning power plants put out more CO2 than any of the other sources combined. Al's house doesn't account for all of this. Find something else to rail against. You're boring those of us with intelligence. Next Subject!

The grass is always greener

judy sherrard double oak, tx — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 21:59:12 GMT

Just figured out the ratio of my monthly kwh usage to my home's square feet - it's about the same as Gore's. My house is 3,500 sq ft and we use about 5,000 kwh a month. We're, sadly, all electric and rarely get a monthly bill below 5,000 kwh, despite many energy-saving strategies. Get out your calculators: If you divide the Gore home's monthly kwh use (15,917) by sq ft (10,000), you get 1.59 kwh used per sq ft. Mine is not too much better at 1.43 kwh/sq ft. The one stat the Tennessee Center for Policy Research purposely omitted in its story is the average square feet in their so-called "typical Tennessee home" that uses only 1,300 kwh a month. The numbers they gave are meaningless without this information, but they're counting on all of us to be too lazy to spot their dishonesty. This is swift-boating at its lowest level and I'm weary, lord, weary of folks like these getting a free publicity ride from folks who should know better. The only take-home message you need to have about the Tennessee Center for Policy Research is that they are will skewer anyone by any means possible who dares to suggest we rethink driving 12 mpg behemoths or consider energy sources other than those that profit big oil. Cherchez the money and you'll find the usual suspects contributing to this group: big energy companies.

The grass is always greener

Mike - Austin, TX — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 22:02:36 GMT

Fred, I'm afraid you are right on. Politics in this country is always "my team vs. your team". Nobody cares about what is right - they just root for their team (party). Nobody wins.

The grass is always greener

Laura Martin Cincinnati, Ohio — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 22:08:35 GMT

Who are the real hypocrites? If you don't care enough to want a better planet for your children and grandchildren, then just say so. But don't hide behind what Al Gore does or doesn't do as an excuse for your own behavior. If you are unwilling to change your ways for whatever reason, then just say so. But be honest about your reasons and don't use Al Gore as your excuse to do nothing. He doesn't now nor will he ever control our ability to FREELY CHOOSE our own paths.

The grass is always greener

Russell in Maryland — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 22:51:11 GMT

Funny how the same people who say Al isn't doing enough are the ones who advocate doing nothing. There are some people who just get their jollies by poking a stick in the eye of anyone who might show them up by actually trying to make things better. Anyone who thinks this "controversy" is anything but a coordinated Republican politically motivated smear probably needs to develop some cynicism. I have to wonder if some of it wasn't funded by the millions Exxon-Mobil handed out to propagandize against global warming science.

The grass is always greener

Cass B, Longmont, CO — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 23:28:19 GMT

Many times I have stated that I applaud Al Gore's efforts to bring gloabl warming to the forefront. However, it is very disheartening to have someone as a spokesperson who is NOT living the life or walking the walk. Besides, with our own govenment and various others with weather research programs trying to change the weather patterns (HAARP, ELF, etc)and the chemtrails it would be refreshing if Mr Gore got off his public platform and truly spoke the truth as well as leading by example.

The grass is always greener

GreenTeaBlog — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 23:38:51 GMT

Have to agree with John from Oregon.. It is the type of energy use which is of concern.. Renewable clean energy can be used all day long.. WITHOUT further reducing the amount of O2 in our habitat. Needless to say, O2 levels are way down from 100 years ago! Some reports suggest the O2 levels are down from pre-industrial era of 35% to a staggering low of 7% in some major cities like Tokyo! Yikes!

The grass is always greener

Samantha, Mission Hills, CA — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 23:42:48 GMT

Hooray for capitalism. I live in a smaller house than Gore and therefore, have a smaller carbon footprint. I set my thermostats low and do all I can to avoid using energy because it costs money that I don't have. So how much more am I expected to do? I can't afford carbon offsets. The lower middle class isn't burning up all the energy because we can't afford it. I am happy Gore has all the "things" he has and I am thankful for the "things" in my life. When I saw the words to a song in "An Inconvenient Truth" I was ticked off. Lower my thermostat. Its already low. In the summer, I raise it so high that the A/C doesn't turn on. I already drive an economy car for economic reasons. So I am not burning a lot of fuel. So people like me get tired of Al Gore and others preaching to us.

The grass is always greener

Chris M., San Francisco, CA — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 23:43:00 GMT

Attacking Gore on this issue is not just "attacking the messenger," it's attacking the leader of a movement. As such it is valid to point out hypocrisy where it exists, especially when he presents an extreme or exaggerated view of the problem and what people should do about it. Whether he buys his power from carbon-friendly sources or gives money to charities to compensate for his over-consumption, he's still consuming more than many small communities. Afterall, the data presented here is just for one of his homes. Thus, if his over-consumption (relative to the average citizen) is from green sources, he is still using 1000s of green kilowatt hours more modest consumers could buy from carbon friendly sources if he wasn’t competing for it. If he cannot reduce his energy footprint in a truthful way, how should he expect less fortunate citizens to do so -- those of us who cannot afford more than one home or to fly in private jets. Osama Bin Laden is also a leader of a movement who does not do (would never do) what he pushes his followers to do -- commit suicide bombing attacks. This is an extreme example, but it’s fair to point this out about Bin Laden when trying to dissuade people from taking up suicide bombing to advance their/his cause? In the same sense it is fair to point out Gore’s hypocrisy when questioning whether the problem is really as bad as he says. He claims to know the extent of the problem. If it is as bad as he wants us to believe, and he wants to lead us in the right direction, he would do well to make a greater effort to lead by example. Actions speak louder than words.

The grass is always greener

Brian Murphy, Towson, MD — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 23:54:02 GMT

We can take this argument, as we have it now to its extreme as there have been no limits set to keep us from doing so. Imagine you meet a person who thinks the world is overpopulated, that there are simply too many people in the world and we have to stop having so many kids. The response of many who have spoken so far would be, "You hypocrite, then what are you doing living and having a kid? Gotcha!" This hypocrite stuff reduces to an absurd argument. To have a good argument, we should compare the energy bill of his house to houses of the same size and of the same energy use profile. Then we should consider where he gets his energy from and figure out the environmental impact. Lastly we should consider what he is doing on top of that to help the environment himself through donations, programs, and other methods. After all of this we could safely say that we have quantified the impact that Al Gore has on the environment and figure what blame should be placed. At the end of this we will most likely see that even if Al Gore is hurting the environment, the fact that he got 200 people to walk or bike to work instead of drive or that he got another 500 to turn off the lights when they leave a room would more than take care of his impact and perhaps save us from the spectre of global warming.

The grass is always greener

Mike M., Cincinnati, OH — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 01:26:09 GMT

Why don't we all get off the messenger? In the long run these "Gore" issues do not matter. No one can deny that manking has had an impact on this earth. Just drive arounf your own city and look at all the development of all types. Not exactly what mother nature intended OR that to which the wealthy aspire (why else would the majority own huge tracks of land for their homes - that are not developed with strip malls?). Being ecologically mindful is a good thing for everyone - no matter who you are. The real question is not what Al Gore is doing, but what are each of us doing? Are we all doing our own little part. I know, looking inward is hard....and then we die ... but, for many of us, our children have to carry on with that which we leave them.

The grass is always greener

LV — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 01:58:23 GMT

You're the only person I've come across who's got the level of attachment my brother has. He was listening to - and loving - Joan Jett at 2, 3, 4 years old. When he played me some music he'd written in the past year I heard her all over it. I'm sure he'll be happy to know she's influenced someone else as much as him.

The grass is always greener

Brent, Jacksonville, FL — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 06:38:03 GMT

Regarding the Honda F1 livery, the money spent to have your name placed on the car is donated to one of several environmental charities, not to the race team. Honda has sponsors to pay for racing and those sponsors have agreed to run the car decal-free. Honda has also stated the F1 car is not green, the company is. The livery is designed in part to highlight Honda's efforts as a consumer car manufacturer to produce environmentally friendly cars. It should also be noted that Formula 1 will begin using "energy recovery" systems starting in 2009. That is more than can be said about most forms of motor sports.

The grass is always greener

Dancing Cats — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 13:42:17 GMT

"National Bike to Work Day" is Friday, May 18, 2007. The website address is http://bikeleague.org/programs/bikemonth/.

The grass is always greener

Heather, Hollywood, MD — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 18:24:59 GMT

Al Gore be darned!!! I want a white gummi bear from Jamba Juice!! (Is it bad that I was more concerned with hidden menu items than Gore "the Green"?)

The grass is always greener

Will Femia — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 19:58:46 GMT

Heather, speaking as someone who's had to read through pages upon pages of these Al Gore comments, the answer to your question is a resounding no. Thank God for you.

The grass is always greener

Monkeytool, Austin, TX — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 15:33:29 GMT

Regarding the UNC breakup video. I also doubted that it was fake, until I watched the high quality video that you posted yesterday. On angle 1, at around 2:50 she scans the crowd, looks at the guy, and winks at him. Not that it matters, but it is an interesting video.

The grass is always greener

steve orleski, king of prussia, pa — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 20:55:56 GMT

William Lawerence, natural gas is not green, it emits CO2. And buring 1000$ of natural gas a month is emitting a lot of CO2. If gore's house was really green he could use a geothermal system to heat/cool his house, and to pre-heat his hot water to 80-85 degrees, then buy an electric hotwater heater and use green electricty to heat it the rest of the way. This system would reduce his bill by 50-60% especially if he installed one of the high end geothermal systems (which I'm sure he can afford). it would also reduce his CO2 emissions to near nothing. I am building a house and installing such a system, for my 2900sq ft house this system will save the equivilant of taking 2 cars off the road. Again, and, no one is perfect, but, it's a matter of prinicipal, if you are going to preach to others at least set an example yourself.

The grass is always greener

Ailsa, Chille, Spain — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 04:44:34 GMT

"National Bike to Work Day" is Friday, May 18, 2007. The website adress is http://bikeleague.org/programs/bikemonth/.

The grass is always greener

Ailsa, Chille, Spain — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 04:48:00 GMT

William Lawrence, natural gas is not green, it emits CO2. And buring 1000$ of natural gas a month is emitting alot of CO2. If gore's house was really green he could use a geothermal system to heat/cool his house, and to pre-heat his hot water to 80-85 degrees, then buy an electric hotwater heater and use green electricity to heat it the rest of the way. This system would reduce his bill by 50-60% especially if he installed one of the high geothermal systems (which I'm sure he can afford). It would also reduce his CO2 emissions to near nothing. I am building a house and installing such a system, for my 2900sq ft house this system will save the equivilant of taking 2 cars off the road. Again, and, no one is perfect, but, it's a matter of principal, if you are going to preach to others at least set an example yourself.