An Inconvenient Truth
It is not unusual anymore to hear on a fairly regular basis about another one of Gore’s headline grabbing "initiatives" to save the planet. One of the most recent was announced on the 9th of this month when Gore and Sir Richard Branson (chairman of the Virgin Group) offered $25 million to the person who comes up with a way to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
The DVD of An Inconvenient Truth is advertised on the web site of Climate Crisis (the organization behind the "documentary"). In the interest of being ecologically friendly, we are told that:
The DVD will be packaged with no excess materials, so as to make the smallest environmental footprint possible. Packaging will include 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper, inks and coatings formulated to emit virtually no volatile organic compounds into the atmosphere, no inserts, no laminates and no plastic. The package was manufactured by Ivy Hill. The back of the DVD package will direct teachers to www.climatecrisis.net where a free downloadable educational guide will be available.
What the film "(in)conveniently" leaves out are some interesting details about Gore’s personal somewhat-less-than-environmentally-friendly personal habits in certain areas. The Tennessee Center for Policy Research has done some investigating into Al Gore’s electric and natural gas bills and has turned up some interesting facts. In an article titled "Al Gore’s Personal Energy Use Is His Own ‘Inconvenient Truth’" we are informed that "Gore’s home uses more than 20 times the national average." Read on (emphasis is mine in the piece):
Last [Sunday] night, Al Gore’s global-warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, collected an Oscar for best documentary feature, but the Tennessee Center for Policy Research has found that Gore deserves a gold statue for hypocrisy.
Gore’s mansion, located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES).
In his documentary, the former Vice President calls on Americans to conserve energy by reducing electricity consumption at home.
The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh—more than 20 times the national average.
Last August alone, Gore burned through 22,619 kWh—guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year. As a result of his energy consumption, Gore’s average monthly electric bill topped $1,359. Since the release of An Inconvenient Truth, Gore’s energy consumption has increased from an average of 16,200 kWh per month in 2005, to 18,400 kWh per month in 2006.
Gore’s extravagant energy use does not stop at his electric bill. Natural gas bills for Gore’s mansion and guest house averaged $1,080 per month last year.
"As the spokesman of choice for the global warming movement, Al Gore has to be willing to walk the walk, not just talk the talk, when it comes to home energy use," said Tennessee Center for Policy Research President Drew Johnson.
In total, Gore paid nearly $30,000 in combined electricity and natural gas bills for his Nashville estate in 2006.
In the comment section of the Climate Crisis blog, one reader offers a number of suggestions on how to reduce the consumption of electricity (he and his family "were able to reduce our electrical consumption from 500 kw-hr/month down below 200 kw-hr."). I strongly urge that gentleman to take what he has learned and use that knowledge to educate Al Gore on conservation and kindness to the environment.
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