The Former VP Responds

The following is an update to the post, The Truth Can Be Inconvenient:

The former VP responds:

...A spokeswoman for Gore said the former vice president invests in enough renewable energy to make up for the home's power consumption. The spokeswoman said Gore purchases enough "green power" — renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and methane gas — to balance 100 percent of his electricity costs.

"Sometimes when people don't like the message, in this case that global warming is real, it's convenient to attack the messenger," Gore spokeswoman Kalee Kreider said. ...

Gore has said he leads a "carbon-neutral lifestyle." To balance out other carbon emissions, the Gores invest money in projects to reduce energy consumption around the globe, Kreider said.

"For every ton of carbon they emit, he offsets that by doing investments in renewable energy sources," Kreider said. ...

Johnson said Gore's home has gas lamps lining the driveway, a heated pool and an electric gate, all of which would be easy to do without.

Kreider confirmed that Gore's home has a heated pool and an electric gate, but noted that the gate is important for security and that the driveway has only one gas lamp.

Focusing on Gore's personal electricity consumption misses the point of "An Inconvenient Truth," Kreider said, which is that governments and the public can work together to reduce emissions.

Hmmmm, government and public. Gore is no longer government, so that would put him in the public category. But he must not see himself as such, since he doesn't seem to be "working together." I look at it this way: is it really okay to burn more fossil fuel as long as you spend more on renewable energy? Why not burn less fossil fuel and still spend more on renewable energy? A little too inconvenient, maybe?

Joe