Pay It Forward
A guy I work with gave me his copy of An Inconvenient Truth only if I promised to watch it and give it to someone else with the same instruction. After watching this I see why he felt compelled to do his part in spreading this information.
I know we all may not agree on politics, but this is not political. We aren't sure who we are going to pass this copy on to, probably a friend of mine. But we are planning on buying our own copy we could pass through the family if you guys would like to borrow it.
Either way, anyone who reads this blog - please see this film. It's beautifully done, and a real eye opener.
I know we all may not agree on politics, but this is not political. We aren't sure who we are going to pass this copy on to, probably a friend of mine. But we are planning on buying our own copy we could pass through the family if you guys would like to borrow it.
Either way, anyone who reads this blog - please see this film. It's beautifully done, and a real eye opener.
posted by Caslon | 8:38 PM
7 Comments:
The Tennessee Center for Policy Research charged Monday that the gas and electric bills for the former vice president's 20-room home and pool house devoured nearly 221,000 kilowatt-hours in 2006, more than 20 times the national average of 10,656 kilowatt-hours.
"If this were any other person with $30,000-a-year in utility bills, I wouldn't care," says the Center's 27-year-old president, Drew Johnson. "But he tells other people how to live and he's not following his own rules."
The Center claims that Nashville Electric Services records show the Gores in 2006 averaged a monthly electricity bill of $1,359 for using 18,414 kilowatt-hours, and $1,461 per month for using 16,200 kilowatt-hours in 2005. During that time, Nashville Gas Company billed the family an average of $536 a month for the main house and $544 for the pool house in 2006, and $640 for the main house and $525 for the pool house in 2005. That averages out to be $29,268 in gas and electric bills for the Gores in 2006, $31,512 in 2005.
now that's an inconvenient truth.
i would like to see the movie, but i wish he would practice what he preaches.
And then there's the preference for using private jets instead of commercial...
brings the question, "Do the ends justify the means?" The Gore's explanation is thier large family, home-offices, etc.
My neighbor told me how much she loved this film. Or I should say, how much it moved her.
I want to see the movie in order to better discern how relevant the criticisms are to the film as a whole. Does that make sense? It's easy for us to attack one particular point without seeing th film, but can we call those particular other actions hypocritical. Is the whole film about the cost of kwh, or ALL of the environmental issues?
Apparently his aunt is a rather boring professor, from what my friend who took one of her courses has said. Not that that's relevant, I'm just sayin'...
ok caslon--we will see the movie and keep an open mind--we love you!!!
Apparently each person in a commercial jet is responsible for as much co2 in our atmosphere as driving a Hummer for 1 year. When you see how much Gore flies around the world in this film - that's a scary realization.
Hypocracy aside, this film brings to light some really important facts about our effect on the earth. It's mostly based on Global Warming, not all environmental issues.
As for all of the kwh... I'd like to see those numbers compared to other billionaires with 20 room homes with pool houses. I bet that would tell a different story.
Also, Camera Man told me that you can now buy "enviormental credits", you can figure how much co2 you are contributing to the earth, and buy the credits which are used for research and work to reduce co2 in the atmosphere. Isn't that interesting? I wonder if that will become something that's popular. "I can feel okay about my hummer because I contribute to the planting of trees...."
"I can have a Big Mac, because I got a Diet coke..."
:)
ok, i read a little on the enviro credits. that's just down right annoying. (i think i read gore does this along with other celebs.) apparently, he pays someone else to use less energy , so he can use more energy. it all evens out. (oh shut up! - to him and others, not you caslon!) if you're really concerned about the topic you should use less energy and convince others to follow your example. walk the talk.
i really don't care how much other billionaires with 20+ room houses and heated pools use in energy if they aren't carrying the torch telling me to use less.
all that said, i think God is very clear that we are to be prudent with the gifts he has given us - including our natural resources.
We may have found different kinds of credits. The ones I saw were from a photographer's blog suggesting that if your assignments require you to travel a lot by air, you should invoice these carbon offsets as a cost of doing business. I think the money went towards R&D and funding for cleaner technology.
There's also buying "green energy," where you pay a premium for energy produced at nuclear plants and windfarms...that may be what Gore's doing.
About Gore, the AP reported that his actual usage was less than what the non-profit suggested. When you compare his actual usage to a recent, regional average (as opposed to a national average from several years ago), Gore actually comes out better than average in kwh/square foot.
He also does do the things the film suggests...install solar panels, replace incandescent bulbs with fluorescent, use timed thermostats, recycle, that sort of thing...in addition to the more expensive green energy.
Ultimately, though, Gore is beside the point. If he went out tomorrow and started mugging little old ladies, it wouldn't change the substance of the message.
i completely agree with the basic concepts that mr gore champions. i don't believe that the world is going to end b/c of ozone depletion, etc...; i've got another book that tells me otherwise. like i said earlier, i think we are commanded to be good stewards of the earth.
perhaps i'm shooting the messenger, but the messenger needs to be consistent. buying credits in any form isn't consistent. it does not even out.
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