Just don't do as I do!
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.
But, you know, unlike us little people he's important, so it's not hypocritical or anything.
UPDATE: Others blogging the story...
Gore has bought his indulgences, so his soul is green and pristine and he will still go to ecology heaven. Whew. Thank goodness! Now the rest of you, just buy your indulgences and you can pollute all you want - it all evens out! Can’t you figure that out, yet? And that means, btw, that really is no emergency, after all. But there are good things you can and probably should do. And if you don’t start doing them soon…you’ll be made to.
I think she nailed it earlier, with carbon offsets as the indulgences of the Church of Global Warming. Why quit sinning when you can BUY forgiveness? Heck, you can sin even more and still look down on the masses--if you've the cash. In fact, the more you sin, the more indulgences you buy, the more virtuous you can be!
George Bush lives environmentalism whereas Al Gore only gives it lip service, yet he's is hailed as God's greatest gift to the environment. Meanwhile, he greedily consumes far more energy than the average American who, by the way, would be footing the bill for Kyoto if we hadn't pull out of it.
Every single one of those actors at the Oscars last night who was applauding Al Gore and nodding his or her head in agreement when Gore said global warming is a moral issue not a political one, needs to take lessons on how to be eco-friendly from President Bush. Next time liberals smugly announce that they drive Priuses, laugh in their faces.
Hypocrisy, thy name is Gore.
...purchasing offsets only means that Gore doesn't want to make the same kind of sacrifices that he's asking other families to make. He's using a modern form of indulgences in order to avoid doing the penance that global-warming activism demands of others. It means that the very rich can continue to suck up energy and raise the price and the demand for electricity and natural gas, while families struggle with their energy costs and face increasing government regulation and taxation.
Indeed. As many have noted, the number of "indulgences" available is limited, so increased demand will only raise the price of them.
UPDATE: The whole thing had a tune rumbling in the back of my head, one I couldn't quite nail down. Until now.
[Cross-posted to Stubborn Facts.]
UPDATE (baldilocks): A detailed description of some of the eco-friendly features at President Bush's Crawford residence:Geothermal heat pumps located in a central closet circulate water through pipes buried 300 feet deep in the ground where the temperature is a constant 67 degrees; the water heats the house in the winter and cools it in the summer. Systems such as the one in this "eco-friendly" dwelling use about 25% of the electricity that traditional heating and cooling systems utilize.
A 25,000-gallon underground cistern collects rainwater gathered from roof runs; wastewater from sinks, toilets and showers goes into underground purifying tanks and is also funneled into the cistern. The water from the cistern is used to irrigate the landscaping surrounding the four-bedroom home. Plants and flowers native to the high prairie area blend the structure into the surrounding ecosystem.(Thanks to Gerard van der Leun via Instapundit)
