Defending the Truth

Hogwash.

Al Gore is one of THE WORST ENERGY GUZZLERS ON THE PLANET. He also is a self-acclaimed Messiah of the environment.

How can you POSSIBLY be SO DUMB that you cannot see how absurd that is?

Does Al Gore waste more energy than others whose job takes them all over the world every week?

I don't think that you understand the situation here. The only reason that Tennessee Valley Authority purchases ANY green power is because they offer this program, where customers can pay more money in order to fund green power production instead of normal power production.

Al Gore subscribes to this program: it is called Green Power Switch. His money funds the exact amount of green power necessary to power his home. If Al Gore were the only subscriber for Tennessee Valley Authority, then all of their power would be Green Power, because Al Gore's money is only going to fund the production of Green Power.

Al Gore pays more than most consumers for his power because he subscribes to this program.

The "somebody" is a company called Generation Investment Management, which Gore played a part in founding. I have never heard any claims that this company does not do what it claims to do: plant trees fund additional green power. As far as I can tell: there is no dispute about this.

Monbiot says that purchasing carbon offsets does not excuse creating carbon emissions today, but he does not deny that carbon offset companies do what they say.

Monbiot kind of has a point, and he kind of doesn't...carbon offsets are kind of like a way to make people who burn a lot of natural gas and fuel feel better about it. But at the same time, they do also get reduce carbon in our atmosphere.

So when you say that Gore used a bunch of natural gas and fuel, you can't just leave it at that, because that's not the full story. Gore also goes to efforts to compensate for these emissions, and that's a lot better than creating carbon without trying anything to fix it.

It would have taken longer, and promoting his movie was very time-sensitive.

More people would see his movie if he also advertised it.

Remember that Gore isn't trying to protect the ozone: I think the ozone layer is not as enormous a problem as it once was. Instead, Gore is trying to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.

In your eyes they may further implicate Gore, but in mine they help explain his actions. I think you should speak the whole story, and let your opinion address the whole story. Failing to mention facts which seem to contradict your argument is deceptive, and we should try to avoid that.

I do appreciate your post: this is what I was looking for to help me understand your viewpoint, and hopefully it will improve our debate on this topic.

Once again you're displaying how willing you are to gulp down - hook, line and sinker - this duplicitous tripe!

Al Gore is DOING, in excess, EXACTLY what he's saying everybody else should NOT do! He is a giant hypocrite.

In the meantime, people with INTEGRITY are simply DOING the right thing - not TALKING about it, while living a lie.


My family lived on an acreage for 9 years. During that time, I planted LITERALLY hundreds upon hundreds of trees - probably more trees than Gore has had planted with his Carbon Offsets, despite the fact that mine is NOT an ultra-rich family. We harvested fallen, dead trees and used them for heat.

And guess what? We didn't have to burn up exorbitant amounts of LP Gas or waste thousands upon thousands of dollars of electricity.

THAT is the point.

Al Gore either needs to walk the walk, or shut his gaping, hypocritical pie hole.

The logic of these carbon offsets escapes me. It sounds more like an excuse to continue to live a lifestyle that Gore denounces. I say this because Gore advocates reducing one’s carbon footprint, something he is not doing. Offsetting and reducing are two different things. Moreover, the carbon emissions of Gore’s jet do more damage to the atmosphere than emissions on the ground due to the altitude difference. There is no way a tree can compensate for those emissions. Trees take months and months to grow while we see Gore’s monthly electricity bill also grow. It means nothing if his money funds the exact amount of green power necessary to power his home. No green power production has, to my knowledge, ever reduced the production of a non-green power producing plant and thus, reduced carbon emissions.

Gore is harming the environment, more so than the average American. These carbon offsets are logically unjustifiable, and in some cases, proven not to work as they are advertised. If Gore wants to prevent the world from going up in flames, he better do more than just compensate, he better actually reduce. Who needs to power a pool house during Spring anyway?

Absolutely they are that excuse. However, they also do reduce carbon in the atmosphere, and this is what Gore is telling people to do. Gore does not denounce a luxurious lifestyles: he denounces carbon in the atmosphere.

It is true that offsetting and reducing are two different things, but when calculating one's carbon footprint, offsets are taken into consideration.

Which is why Gore only uses his jet in time-sensitive situations.

One tree can't, but enough trees could. Remember also that carbon offsets do not only plant trees: they also reduce carbon through replacing normal energy sources with green power (solar power, wind power, and power from methane in landfills).

If Gore didn't pay for Green Power, that extra power would have to come from somewhere, right? The only place it could come from is the normal, carbon-producing methods.

Are you certain of that? Even if you discount carbon offsets entirely, consider this: Gore uses green power, so no emissions are created by his electricity. Gore drives a hybrid car, so less emissions are created when he drives. So just looking at electricity and automobiles, Gore uses far less carbon than most families. On the other hand, his natural gas usage is very high. So maybe he does produce more carbon than most families, but are we sure? Do you or I have any idea how much carbon is produced by burning natural gas compared to by automobiles or electricity?

Besides, it isn't really fair to ignore carbon offsets: Gore is purchasing them because he thinks they will help. Further, he's installing energy-saving windows in his house and having solar panels installed on his house. He's at least trying to do something.

Gore isn't asking people to make sacrifices in their standard of living: he's asking people to carpool when they can, turn off the lights when they leave the house, and use green alternatives if possible and if you can afford them. But most importantly, he is advocating increased government regulation of carbon emissions.

There are definitely carbon offset scams out there, but Gore's offset company is one of the most reliable. Besides, you're pretty much asking for a scam if the company is named e-BlueHorizons.com.

I admit that if I were the environmental crusader that he is, I'd try to do a lot more than he's doing. I'd try to reduce more than my share of carbon in the atmosphere, not just the bare minimum in order to call myself "carbon neutral". But at the same time, it's incorrect to call him a hypocrite, and I don't see why we should judge him negatively when he appears to be going through many efforts to reduce his carbon emissions.

You mean people who disagree with him will explain their disagreement? Sounds like the very purpose of a debate forum, don't you think?

Half truths, trickery and deception is all that's left of the Republican Party.

hey, there, knot-e-lady!

nice to see you here - welcome to the forum!