Please help me debunk this email

[Killarney]

Just got this. I know Gore's house uses a lot of energy but I remember seeing an article stating that he balances it out somehow. Anyone have a link for that? Also, any idea if the house #2 stuff is true? I'd love to reply all to this crap with some facts.

LOOK OVER THE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE FOLLOWING TWO HOUSES AND SEE IF YOU CAN TELL WHICH BELONGS TO AN ENVIRONMENTALIST.
HOUSE # 1:
A 20-room mansion (not including 8 bathrooms) heated by natural gas. Add on a pool (and a pool house) and a separate guest house all heated by gas. In ONE MONTH ALONE this mansion consumes more energy than the average American household in an ENTIRE YEAR. The average bill for electricity and natural gas runs over $2,400.00 per month. In natural gas alone (which last time we checked was a fossil fuel), this property consumes more than 20 times the national
average for an American home. This house is not in a northern or Midwestern “snow belt,” either. It’s in the South.

HOUSE # 2:
Designed by an architecture professor at a leading national university, this house incorporates every “green” feature current home construction can provide. The house contains only 4,000 square feet (4 bedrooms) and is nestled o n arid high prairie in the American southwest. A central closet in the house holds geothermal heat pumps drawing ground water through pipes sunk 300 feet into the ground. The water (usually 67 degrees F.) heats the house in winter and cools it in summer. The system uses no fossil fuels such as oil or natural gas, and it consumes 25% of the electricity required for a conventional heating/cooling system. Rainwater from the roof is collected and funneled into a 25,000 gallon underground cistern. Wastewater from showers, sinks and toilets goes into underground purifying tanks and then into the cistern. The collected water then irrigates the land surrounding the house. Flowers and shrubs native to the area blend the property into the surrounding rural landscape.



See below for answer...

HOUSE # 1 (20 room energy guzzling mansion) is outside of Nashville , Tennessee. It is the abode of that renowned environmentalist (and filmmaker) Al Gore.
HOUSE # 2 (model eco-friendly house) is on a ranch near Crawford , Texas . Also known as “the Texas White House,” it is the private residence of the President of the United States , George W. Bush.

[ComerPerro]

1. House #2 sounds like it was built for some kind of elitist sicko, no?

Gee, I thought the great thing about Bush was that he was common folk, like you and me.

[C_U_L8R]

2. assume for a second this is true

what's their point??
no matter which way you slice it... isn't being "green" a good thing??
So what's their point??

[Dave From Canada]

4. You are right, being green is definitely a good thing, but I'm a big believer of leading by example.

[JuniperLea]

12. Then you should lead yourself over to Snopes and HuffPost

For the full debunking... and then lead your friends to the same.

[BoneDaddy]

18. Their point is that the leader of the global warming

movement is asking everyone else to cut down and conserve meanwhile he is living extravagantly. I have looked into this and for the most part it is true. In fairness to Gore, his house is about 4-5 times larger than the average american and both he and Tipper use it as their offices. Ask the average american to include the power they use in their office and chances are Al Gore comes out smelling a little bit cleaner. Also Al is in the planning of installing solar panels and wind generators.

Look I love Al Gore, I think his movie is phenomenal and I think his message is true and accurate. That said, he showed some real bad judgement in not showing foresight, in not being smart enough to know that he would be a target and it is a small matter to investigate his energy usage. He basically gave them a free shot and he ends up looking like a "limosine liberal" who is guilty of "do as a say and not as I do".

[Maat]

24. Yes, and I'm in the same boat.

We both drive hybrids now, and our business partner takes public transportation and walks - period.

We do have a 4,000+ home out here in Temecula/Murrieta, Ca., but we use it to run 3 businesses, and we home-school (Beloved Daughter has unique needs - she's in a hybrid program in which she goes to a charter school 2 days/week). To make a long story short, we are now getting rid of the lawn, and putting in a waterwise garden. Also, we have some solar energy setup, but are planning more. I do have a big house, but I'm not the cause of a big office building and its huge energy usage, and I don't drive a long distance to work. Nobody's perfect, and we are all trying.

So, I empathize with the Gores. At least he is getting us to brainstorm.

That said, I hear your points.

[Dave From Canada]

25. You're exactly right. To me, it's almost as though the rich can live their extravagant lifestyles,

while we surfs are asked to change the way we lead our lives for the greater good. This is an issue that should cut across all classes.

[niyad]

3. house #2 was built for the previous owner of the pig farm--oil puppet george had absolutely NOTHING

to do with it, other than buying it as a prop.

[Horse with no Name]

5. The first thing

is that the electric company never released the electric bill. Secondly, he utilizes alternative energy sources without utilizing fossil fuels which does increase his bill because it is more expensive.

[NMDemDist2]

6. it's true about Bushie's house. that fortress could withstand the Apocalypse

as for Gore's house, his electricity all comes from Green power (for which he pays an extra premium to use) and Natural Gas is the least polluting of any fossil fuel

i'm thinking Bush's house is enviro friendly cuz it was cheaper to do it that way and if the wheels come off due to peak oil, he won't be greatly inconvenienced

[RaleighNCDUer]

20. But it will cost a pretty penny to ship it to Paraguay. nt

[NMDemDist2]

21. ROFL

true dat!

[EST]

7. Here-snopes can be a friend.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/gorehome.asp

[NMDemDist2]

10. snopes has that wrong a bit

Gore's house is dead average when compared to other homes in his area

snip...The "average" home electricity use quoted by TCPR is a national average that includes apartments and mobile homes. In Gore's climatic zone, the East South Central (Dept. of Energy PDF), the average is much higher, thanks to hot, humid summers and cold winters. Within that zone, Gore's usage is three (not 20) times average, and his per-square-foot usage is squarely average.

more debunking at this link

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-roberts/talking-points-on-the-gor_b_42335.html

[JuniperLea]

11. As always, the Right has it WRONG!

They compare one portion of a story to something that isn't the same... apples and oranges... and forget the circumstances.

[JuniperLea]

8. His house is also his office building!

There are umpteen employees in the house using gas, water and electricity! It's apples and oranges as always. You can't compare a single family dwelling to a structure, house or not, that is being used as an office building!!! From what Gore said just yesterday, it's an old house that is in the process of being retrofitted with the latest eco measures.

[Norquist Nemesis]

9. House #1, paid for by the owner including staff resources

House #2 has the whole of the federal resources and staff at his disposal all paid for by taxpayers

Once the occupant of #2 no longer has those resources available to him, maybe we can make a comparison. Till then, it's trying to study apples vs. a box of rocks.

[NYCGirl]

13. Here's more on the "house" smear, with lots of great links:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-johnson-and-james-boyce/a-far-too-convenient-mea_b_42171.html

[Beaverhausen]

14. House #2 is just that - a second house. How wasteful is that?

Granted, Bush spends a lot of time there, but still...

Plus, how cold does it get there in the winter? I'm thinking it doesn't need much energy to heat.

[gatorboy]

15. How do you people get these emails?

I've never received a single right wing crapmail that's frequently posted here (And I don't think I've ever seen any left-leaning spam mail ever). You people sign up for these or what?

[lectrobyte]

16. How do you not get them? My wingnut relatives and co-workers send

those and similar all the time.

[gatorboy]

19. Luckily I come from a long line of Yeller Dawg Democrats :P

[Killarney]

17. Relatives, co-workers, friends, etc.

I enjoy rebutting them. Showing them not to immediately believe what you read, especially in forwarded email.


Thanks everyone for your help and the links! I appreciate it. I've got what I need now. :)

[Union Label]

22. I get this kind of crap all the time

Freeper relatives and ex-friends most of the time I just delete them wholesale.

[jmowreader]

23. Let's talk about Shrub's personal fleet of vehicles

IIRC Shrub owns something like two dozen full-size pickups. He's also got at least one high-powered boat.

Also trust me on this: if Bush couldn't have written all that gear off on his taxes, it wouldn't have gone in.