Matt Drudge v. Al Gore

Wash Post ^ | February 28, 2007; 11:29 AM ET | Rob Anderson

[rface]

The Drudge Report is known mostly as a wildly popular news outlet. Drudge lashed out at Gore after Gore's movie, "An Inconvenient Truth," took the Oscar for Best Documentary.

Citing a press release by the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, Drudge reports that Gore's Tennessee household uses twenty times as much energy as the average person's home, and that the former vice president's energy consumption has increased since the release of his anti-global warming film. "The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy," the report says. "In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh -- more than 20 times the national average."

Gore shot back at Drudge Monday through an interview with the liberal Web site ThinkProgress:

Responding to Drudge, Gore's office told ThinkProgress:

1) Gore's family has taken numerous steps to reduce the carbon footprint of their private residence, including signing up for 100 percent green power through Green Power Switch, installing solar panels, and using compact fluorescent bulbs and other energy saving technology.

2) Gore has had a consistent position of purchasing carbon offsets to offset the family's carbon footprint -- a concept the right-wing fails to understand. Gore's office explains:

What Mr. Gore has asked is that every family calculate their carbon footprint and try to reduce it as much as possible. Once they have done so, he then advocates that they purchase offsets, to bring their footprint down to zero.

And then there's this comparison Rush Limbaugh made between Gore and President Bush on his radio program yesterday: "Compare Gore's mansion and Bush's modest 4,000 square foot little house on a ranch in Crawford. Who is it that is actually walking the walk here when it comes to conserving energy? It is not Al Gore."

[griswold3]

Going carbon neutral is an easy way to take responsibility for the greenhouse gas emissions we create every time we drive our cars, take a plane, or turn on our computers. It's based on the principle that, since climate change is a global problem, an emission reduction made elsewhere has the same positive effect as one made locally.

Here's how it works: if you add polluting emissions to the atmosphere, you can effectively subtract them by purchasing 'carbon offsets'. Carbon offsets are simply credits for emission reductions achieved by projects elsewhere, such as wind farms, solar installations, or energy efficiency projects. By purchasing these credits, you can apply them to your own emissions and reduce your net climate impact.

[Sax]

"Hmmm, Well Mr. Gore, I wouldn't worry too much about it. I think we can make this footprint disappear, but it will have some associated costs. On the upside, we'll provide you with a gold embossed certificate to use should you ever be challenged on the whereabouts of this here footprint. Like it never happened."

[Cicero]

The ComPost didn't want to explain what those "Carbon Offsets" were. It sounds good until you learn the details.

What it means, according to a somewhat more detailed article published here yesterday (which hadn't yet edited out the inconvenient details) is that Gore has bought a lot of forest land, and the photosynthesis from his own personal trees makes up for the huge heating and air conditioning bills.

So, in order to "offset" their carbon use it means that everybody should go out and buy a few square miles of forest. Simple. If you have the millions in spare change like Gore does.

The leftist media also doesn't explain that gore inherited a huge bundle of stock in Occidental Petroleum, from his daddy, who worked for Armand Hammer and Uncle Joe Stalin. So he has plenty of money to buy land with. No problem.

[jdub]

the "green power switch" is a scam too. right now it doesnt do anything. people who sign up for it are paying the extra money so that in the future some group can develop a greener energy source. He may be signed up, and he may be paying, but he is getting his juice from the same place everyone else is.

What I am suprised at is that he hasn't bothered to point out that a large part of the electricity generated here in TN is from hydroelectric rather than coal. I don't know how much of Nashville electric is hydro and how much is by burning fuel.

[#1CTYankee]

"Carbon offsets are like the payments the elites made in the Civil War to buy someone else off to serve in the Union Army for them."

OMG, I posted before reading your post. Great minds think alike. ;-D

[savedbygrace]

Please explain (someone!) what "carbon offsets" are.

They are Gore's version of Kerry's nuances. That means FReepers just cannot understand them at all, no matter how hard our addled brains try.

(I say this only because I see you've already gotten the technically correct answer. LOL.)

[Steel Wolf]

It's basically a modern version of buying an Indulgence from the medieval Catholic Church. Gore is saying that he can continue to have a huge carbon footprint, because he paid some company to send him a certificate saying that they'd take his money, and use it to reduce carbon emissions somewhere.

[nina0113]

How/where do I buy carbon offsets to sell?

• Open Microsoft Word and design one. Using a globe graphic to show your concern for the environment will be a nice touch. Baby animals, especially polar bears, are also good.
• Go to Staples/Office Depot for some REALLY NICE paper - I recommend 100% cotton rag.
• Load up your color printer. It has to be a laser printer, inkjet won't work.
• If you'd like to add gold trimmings, your local craft store will have gold paint and very small brushes. Remember, neatness counts!
• Sell them on eBay.

[Liberty Valance]

Rush's belief that 4000 ft represents a modest home only proves that he lives in an entirely different world from the rest of us.

Very True. But, Rush isn't trying to sell anyone on the moral equivocation of carbon credits that the wealthy can trade to make themselves feel good about their own hypocracy.

[wastedyears]

So that's not the amount of food he consumes, either?

[tcrlaf]

ATTENTION LURKING LIBERALS/DEMOCRATS:

Due to my energy efficient lifestyle, and I will sell them to the first Lib that sends a Money Order for $3,995.00 to:

Fleece-A-Liberal.Org
PO Box 69
Santa Claus, Indiana

Act FAST, and ease your Liberal guilt, today!

[tcrlaf]

CRAP!! Screwed up the joke!
The first line should have read:

"Due to my energy efficient lifestyle, I have many Carbon Credits available...."

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

On another thread, someone likened carbon offsets to eating huge fattening deserts -- then paying someone else to go on a diet.

[1L]

>>Gore has had a consistent position of purchasing carbon offsets<<

No one seems to be asking the critical question here: who is he purchasing the offsets from?

[Yaelle]

Algore probably pays somebody to use corncobs so that he and Tipper can use extra soft perfumed toilet paper.

ROFL! Nominating this for the Phrase of the Day!

[toddlintown]

Al Gore, the Carbon Foot Whore.

[Cletus.D.Yokel]

How To Illustrate the Absurdity of Carbon Offsets

Flood eBay with offerings! One doofus is selling carbon offsets for not driving his pickup for a day. The offsets are printed on letter-size parchment and go for $0.99.

Shipping, OTOH, is $4.05!

[goodnesswins]

Hmmmmm.....wonder if ole' Al purchased "offsets" for the total redo of his Living Room as shown in a January 2005 House Beautiful Magazine article. Why couldn't they have re-used their curtains, furniture, etc....instead of purchasing soooo much new stuff? (I found this last night going through old mags I have.)

[CharacterCounts]

So, in order to "offset" their carbon use it means that everybody should go out and buy a few square miles of forest. Simple. If you have the millions in spare change like Gore does.

The forest is already in place - so the net effect is zero. The only way Gore could justify this is for him to purchase land with no vegetation and then plant trees.

[samanella]

"the biggest scam since snake-oil" Are you saying that ALGORE is a snake-oil salesman? :)