Al Gore's Big Dumb House
Yesterday the "Tennessee Center for Policy Research" announced that Al Gore has a big dumb house.
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.
On one hand, killing the messenger doesn't make the message any less valid. If anthropogenic global warming exists and is disastrous as everyone says it is, then it's bad no matter how large the house of the person who talks about it is.
On the other hand, Al Gore would do a whole lot to advance his cause if he sold or bulldozed his big dumb house and built a new one as a showcase for what's possible, like Amory Lovins did. Al Gore even has the name recognition to get most of the tech, materials, and design done for free. If the TCPR is making a constructive criticism rather than just taking a cheap shot, it's a good constructive critique.
On another hand, Al Gore purchases Carbon credits to offset his environmental footprint. Monetizing environmental impact, pricing consumption to include negative externalities, and providing an income stream for people to perform the clean-up that Al Gore isn't going to personally perform is responsible behavior.
On yet another hand, energy is fungible. A smaller, smarter house will only delay global warming, because someone will eventually burn whatever Al Gore's house doesn't burn. Al reducing his demand for energy will make energy cheaper. All that carbon is a useful, valuable fuel and it will eventually get dug up and burned by someone unless something even cheaper comes along.
And on a final hand, Al Gore delaying the inevitable would not be a bad thing. It buys us time to find alternatives and discover escape hatches. Funding clean alternatives reduces the cost of those alternatives through economies of scale and incentivizes further development of clean alternatives.
In conclusion, Living well is the best revenge against critics. Al Gore should sell his big dumb house and build something even better. Not because what he's doing now is particularly bad, but because it would more effectively advance his agenda.
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.
On one hand, killing the messenger doesn't make the message any less valid. If anthropogenic global warming exists and is disastrous as everyone says it is, then it's bad no matter how large the house of the person who talks about it is.
On the other hand, Al Gore would do a whole lot to advance his cause if he sold or bulldozed his big dumb house and built a new one as a showcase for what's possible, like Amory Lovins did. Al Gore even has the name recognition to get most of the tech, materials, and design done for free. If the TCPR is making a constructive criticism rather than just taking a cheap shot, it's a good constructive critique.
On another hand, Al Gore purchases Carbon credits to offset his environmental footprint. Monetizing environmental impact, pricing consumption to include negative externalities, and providing an income stream for people to perform the clean-up that Al Gore isn't going to personally perform is responsible behavior.
On yet another hand, energy is fungible. A smaller, smarter house will only delay global warming, because someone will eventually burn whatever Al Gore's house doesn't burn. Al reducing his demand for energy will make energy cheaper. All that carbon is a useful, valuable fuel and it will eventually get dug up and burned by someone unless something even cheaper comes along.
And on a final hand, Al Gore delaying the inevitable would not be a bad thing. It buys us time to find alternatives and discover escape hatches. Funding clean alternatives reduces the cost of those alternatives through economies of scale and incentivizes further development of clean alternatives.
In conclusion, Living well is the best revenge against critics. Al Gore should sell his big dumb house and build something even better. Not because what he's doing now is particularly bad, but because it would more effectively advance his agenda.