The Tennessee Center for Policy Research, an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan research organization committed to achieving a freer, more prosperous Tennessee through free market policy solutions, issued a press release late Monday:

Last 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, [20-room, eight-bathroom] 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 to 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.

For Further Information, Contact:
Nicole Williams, (615) 383-6431
editor@tennesseepolicy.org

But he buys carbon offsets, so it’s all good. What a bunch of elitist $&^%#.

There are plenty of Web sites where you can calculate your carbon footprint, and there are now dozens of companies where you can purchase carbon offsets. I’m sure you’re able to find them on your own, if you would just look.

“As Gore has said many times, he offsets all his carbon expenditures. He’s carbon neutral, more than can be said for most of you. “

Now as many know what he is talking about are “carbon” commodities (carbon dioxide). Under Kyoto every country (save a few well known exceptions) has a carbon allowance. If your industry makes carbon over your country’s allowance you are supposed to buy carbon from a county that is below its allowance. The idea is that the demand would outrun supply, thereby making carbon commodities and futures dear. Well a funny thing happened on the way to the commodities market. Carbon crashed. Hard. Almost none of the industrial countries are paying into the scheme. This makes demand very low and supply is quite high.

In today’s market I could make my household carbon neutral for about six bucks (high fives all around). Does this mean that some industry somewhere will alter its behavior to produce less carbon? Nope, it means that some country like Botswana gets chump change for the sale (brokers in a crashed market tend to make most of the money that changes hands). Perhaps I could go to a country like Sudan, buy their carbon and get them to shut down a carbon producing unit (we call them villages).

Now Al Gore is producing millions of metric tons of carbon a year from flying privately all over the place. He goes to the carbon market, pays the wergild, and gets to claim himself carbon neutral. The world for his travels has millions of tons of carbon more than it would otherwise. Period. Tonight Al Gore will travel to the land of carbon over indulgers to no doubt receive an Oscar. And all will feel so good about themselves because they care.

That’s funny - because when it comes to religious fervor, faith-based belief, oxymoronic acceptance (”Global Warming causes heat waves… Global Warming causes cold snaps”), Messianic longing and sin-fueled Apocalyptism, the Global Warmers strike me as no different than the average Creationist.

Heed the Goracle! The End TImes are Nigh!

I doubted you, so I did some off-the-cuff math. One metric ton (1,000 kilograms) of CO2 includes about 300 kilograms of carbon. This 300,000 grams of carbon is just slightly more than that many grams of fat, at 9 calories per gram, so at least 2.7 million calories. Divide by 365 days in a year, and you get 7,400 calories extra per day because of your bicycling. This could be accurate while you’re competing in the Tour de France:

(“Calories burned by a Tour rider, per day: 5,900 average; 9,000 max. Calories burned by an average 28-year-old male, per day: 2,200 average” – http://www.docsports.com/tour-de-france-history.html)

In contrast, a gallon of gasoline produces 8.8 kilograms of CO2. So 114 gallons of gas produce the same 1,000 kilograms of CO2. So driving just 2,300 or 3,400 miles in a year (at 20 or 30 MPG) creates as much CO2 as biking at a maximal level in the Tour de France… every day of the year.

Oh! The humanity!

Thats impossible. There is no such thing. Even decaying dead people give off CO2.

What you mean to say is that possibly Al has paid money to the Chinese for paper “carbon credits”. The money the Chinese recieved has gone on to be used to oppress people in Tibet and to build nuclear weapons.

It is a well known fact that China and India are producing mass quantities of EXTRA CO2 so they can recieve money for producing less. And, in fact, the do not produce less. They produce more because it is so lucrative to pollute.

Sure. I get it now. That is why even though Al Gore has more houses than me, travels by air much more than me, and has more personal vehicles than me….it is me that has to reduce my carbon emmissions.

I guess the “High Carbon Lifestyle” is just like any other high consumption lifestyle. It is for the Al Gores of the world that can afford them.

You are as unserious and puerile as your hero Al Gore. Since you obviously know NOTHING of me yet you begin what you perceive as an attack on my intelligence (”Simple put it doesn’t accomplish anything arguing with flatearthers like yourself . . . I am assuming you believe the earth is only 7,000 years old, no?”) I can take it as proof you only know of the subject of manmade global warming what your insipid “hero” has said. He’s dead wrong. You’re dead wrong for believing it. I suppose it’s too much to ask for you to engage in a little research into what Al Gore is spouting and why it’s wrong. And you question his hunger for power? You actually believe he’s horning his way into the media over and over because he’s a good steward of the Earth? Puh-leeze! You know, if you had anything important to say, you’d not have to preface it with an attack on me. Since you don’t personally know me, then what you have to say is as full of #%*@ as you are, idiot.

That being said, I am intellectually offended by Gore’s comments that life on earth will cease to exist unless we do what he reccommends. Lastly, I dismiss people like Gore who inspire other people to cut their own CO2 usage while living life to the (CO2) max themselves. He doesn’t need to own numerous CO2 producing estates to achieve his advocacy and yet he does. He doesn’t need to circumnavigate the globe by using CO2 producing private airflight and limo caravans to achieve his advocacy and yet he does. As one who “took the initiative in creating the Internet” so many years ago, Al Gore should realize that he can perform his advocacy successfully from one centralized and “CO2 friendly” location and yet he doesn’t. It seems that the only thing more flimsy than Al Gore’s environmental argument is his commitment to his own cause.

As Al Gore, Bono and other good liberals repeatedly display, “do as I say, not as I do.”

Fine, as far as it goes. Just don’t wear it as a badge of holiness - I’m not impressed. If you really want to do something about conspicuous consumption of energy, well… then just use a lot less energy. Can’t do it? Sure you can. It’s just that it’s damned inconvenient at times.

There’s a specific case of this type of “carbon offset” economic device that I wholeheartedly support - that is the “green credit” premium offered by most utilities. This is a special case, because utilities are required by law to provide the absolute lowest cost power they can procure, and that usually means fossil-based. If we want to see utilities pursing green energy within their regulatory mandates, some of us have to agree to pay more so the utilities can justify purchasing slightly more expensive wind power. People struggle to make ends meet shouldn’t be penalized for the green desires of others. And it’s working, yes, with the help of some gov’t subsidies as well, but we’ve got to get the ball rolling somehow.

What?!?!

How, pray tell? ”

Are you kidding me?!? It’s freezing cold here. As little as six months ago, it was hot. Like, really really hot. And then, get this, six months before that, it was freezing cold. Oh, and we had a lot of windy weather, but only the day before, it was not really that windy at all!!!
It’s not like this has happened before. Only fools like you wouldn’t be scared by these unprecedented events.

Flatearther!!

But this global warming fanaticism is making me cringe. I have no argument against those that are intensely skeptical of “all things environmentalist”, when they claim that global warming has become religion. I have no argument against them because they are correct. The holier-than-thou attitude on display here is a prime example - it comes with the territory whenever true believer movements of any kind are at work.

I can list lots of good reasons to “go green”. Global warming isn’t one of them because it’s too speculative, and we’ll never really know if we’re making meainingful progress.

OK, tell me how this works. How many carbon offsets has Al Gore bought to offset his multiple mansions? Say I want to buy an SUV. That’s a much smaller impact than multiple mansions. What percentages of Al Gore’s necessarily much larger offsets would I have to buy for my one SUV? And do I get a window sticker or wallet card in case some enviro gives me a hard time?

I await your specific answers to my specific questions. In fact, if I hold my breath, I bet that would be a hell of an offset right there.

Given that AlGore has exaggerated so wildly his data to substantiate his movie’s claims, would it be any surprise that his “Carbon Neutral” claims exaggerate their actual efficacy as well?

What?!?!

How, pray tell?