<p>“Is the air better? is the water better? can you eat the fish? When you see dead spots in the oceans from space, does it matter?” Actually, the air quality in Southern California is supposed to be the best in decades. One of the reasons I didn’t mind leaving was that I didn’t want my kids to grow up in the smog. How about Lake Erie? Hasn’t the water quality improved significantly since the 1980’s? Issues of pollution are not always the same as global warming. I think it’s a subject worth studying – unfortunately, the way that it’s become politicized means that objective analysis is hard to find.</p>
<p>“As for caretaking by the right, yeah, let me see it.,I have seen little evidence of that claim on a leadership level”</p>
<p>Well clearly you haven’t looked. Why don’t you and then report back?</p>
<p>The reliance on cheap shots is just more evidence of the moral bankruptcy of the right. After finally having their noses rubbed in the fact of global warming, which the right sneered at for years (some still do) the best they can muster is schoolyard taunts at the most prominent guy who was the rightest the earliest.</p>
<p>[For the umpteenth time]
Al Gore never said he “invented the internet” - or most of the other things you folks claim he said. And accusing him of hypocrisy because he uses the best available means of effectively spreading the word - which are energy intensive but a drop in the bucket of overall energy consumption - is just pathetic. I get that you’d rather he sat in a cave and carved the message on bark, so that no one would ever learn about the colossal extent of disinformation we’ve been fed over the years - or that he was right all along, while your guys were insisting it was all “fuzzy science.”</p>
<p>I was never particularly fond of Gore until I started reading the non-stop childish cheap shots sent his way by the right. Anyone they’re that obsessed with sniping at must be doing something right.</p>
<p>“Anyone they’re that obsessed with sniping at must be doing something right.”</p>
<p>Or Left… :)</p>
<p>Kluge:
Where’s your sense of humor today? The internet thing was a joke. Thrown in to add a touch of humor to a silly politically tainted thread on a college chat room. ;)</p>
<p>“at the most prominent guy who was the rightest the earliest.”</p>
<p>Can he really be the rightest if even environmental groups are saying that he talks the talk without walking the walk?</p>
<p>I admire Jimmy Carter for his work with Habitat for Humanity. However, if it were to come to light that on his off time he was also a slum-lord, my views would be drastically altered, sort of like the way I feel knowing that Al Gore uses more natural energy in a month than most families use in a year or two.<br>
<a href=“http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=nation_world&id=5072659[/url]”>http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=nation_world&id=5072659</a></p>
<p>I would also like to say that I admire Mr. Carter’s work with Habitat. My family volunteers with that organization and we make our largest charitable contribution to it every year and I am proud to say so.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, walking the walk . . .
<a href=“http://www.commondreams.org/views01/0429-03.htm[/url]”>http://www.commondreams.org/views01/0429-03.htm</a></p>
<p>I understand criticism of both sides of the issue, but I’m just curious: if someone has meetings in India, California and Europe, how do you propose that they travel, without using a fuel-based energy source?</p>
<p>1Sokkermom: if the best you can come up with for “humor” is recycling a decades-old cheap shot which wasn’t actually funny in the first place - don’t quit your day job.</p>
<p>It’s a staple of some posters here that “humor” is exemplified by belittling those we disagree with. It’s actually a pretty juvenile practice, that we all (self included) are seduced into from time to time. But if it’s all you’ve got in your repertoire - you really need to think about that.</p>
<p>Zoos: Why am I not surprised to see you presenting the 4,000 sq. ft. exquisitely designed and built house as “walking the [eco-friendly] walk”? It’s like buying a hybrid SUV that gets all of 25 MPG and bragging about how eco-sensitive you are. It sounds like a great house. And whatever you do, don’t look at the man over there behind the curtain…</p>
<p>“Zoos: Why am I not surprised to see you presenting the 4,000 sq. ft. exquisitely designed and built house as “walking the [eco-friendly] walk”?”</p>
<p>And why am I not surprised that you’ve ignored the discussion of energy usage in Gore’s home?
That said, do you think he’s going to run again?</p>
<p>“don’t quit your day job.”</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice Kluge! FYI, my “day job” involves recycling. I am an Environmental Engineer by day. (I also own a business.) Go figure…</p>
<p>My S thinks H and I are “liberal hippies” because we do not support his notion of becoming an Officer in the Military after college. Again, go figure…
He’s the most conservative republican we know!</p>
<p>As an aside (sorry to go off on a tangent)</p>
<p>I thought it was pretty funny the other night at the Oscars when they were patting themselves on the back for this being the first year that the Oscars “went green,” encouraging the use of mass transit and such. I guess they forgot to tell all the stars who showed up in stretch limos (and no, they didn’t carpool).</p>
<p>I just read both articles posted and compared electric use of Gore to my home.</p>
<p>4brm in pacific nw, I use about a quarter kilowatts than AG. My home is considerably smaller. Is it unreasonable for a 20brm home to have a greater utility use? Or is somebody creating the outrage of a large number without comparison to get readers goats? </p>
<p>I know part of my cost is my utility got duped by ENRON and raised our rates 50% a few years back. My spouse complains about how cold the house is (60) we use floresent where possible, good insulation, low hw heater setting and turn off lights. We try where we can to conserve. </p>
<p>While a big believer in the estate tax and what somebody actually NEEDs to live. I really can’t tell in this article if AG is wasting energy or using it wisely. </p>
<p>Anyone on CC have a 20 brm home and pool and pool house? 
How do we know if that’s bad or not? Or do we expect AG to live in a box because it has no energy costs? Or is someone just muddying the waters about the issues? </p>
<p>Offering outrage but no way to compare realistically the situation. I mean the hummer vs. gulgstream is a stupid comparison, designed only to build resentment.</p>
<p>It would have been a better arguement comparing costs of flying regular airline vs private. I can understand Why AG flys private, in the same way I’ll understand GW will too. Our Expresidents and VP’s, need different arangements. Too many kooky people on both sides to risk other civilian passengers for. </p>
<p>I commend GW on his new home in Texas, I have to wonder did “he” want it that way or was it given to him by generous donors? </p>
<p>I would really appreicate him more if he helped energy wise to create inexpensive ways for the average guy to install solar, and rainwater recovery systems. Looking into it, I found while some small subsisdies exist, the cost is still a major finanical undertaking to go green. While it’s fine to complain about AG electric bill or praise GW’s off the grid home, it would be far better to make the ability for average joe homeowner to join GW off the grid. I don’t care if GW does it or AG, Could care less about the messager, I want the message to helpful.</p>
<p>sjmom–Revisionist history is not the sole domain of Democratic ex-presidents/VPs. Wouldn’t they all like to look good for the history books!? … And for those of you who denigrate Carter … ahem. While I haven’t always agreed with Carter, I admire him for spending his time wielding a hammer on Habitat houses rather than a nine-iron at a country club golf course.</p>
<p>Those who STILL think that Gore claimed to have “invented the internet,” should read what Snopes.com has to say about this particular urban legend. It’s not a politicized site, and I use it often to credit or debunk all kinds of silly myths that come my way. (Usually by way of e-mail!) Snopes provides a detailed report on the Gore/internet story, how it started, etc.</p>
<p>Doo</p>
<p>You’re right. </p>
<p>He said the following to Wolf Blitzer, “During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in CREATING (my emphasis) the Internet.”</p>
<p>I’m surpirsed that people are still saying he “invented” it when he actually said that he “created” it.</p>
<p>VoxDei - You wouldn’t, by any chance, happen to also believe that the Second Amendment grants me the right to own a nuclear bomb, do you? 'Cause you sure have than knack of ignoring everything that doesn’t fit your preconception and exalting everything that does out of any reasonable proportion to what it actually is. That “well trained militia” stuff is just in the way of where some people want to go, just like “while in Congress, I took the initiative…”, so I was curious.</p>
<p>My bias is that ex-Presidents should be helpful to their Presidents and country behind the scenes, except, as with Clinton/Bush and the Tsunami, when human need could use their leadership.<br>
I was surprised how self-serving the Gore movie was (walking through airports by himself hauling his luggage behind him). I was also stunned how Nixon became an “elder statesman” in his declining years. Carter has been more trouble than he is worth, to the country and to the world. Reagan was in his dotage, and Ford was always a humble man who was aware he had never been elected in his own right, and likely could have done more after leaving office. Clinton has been surprisingly circumspect.
I swore I wouldn’t post “political opinions”!</p>
<p>What did I ignore?</p>
<p>The man said he created the Internet.</p>
<p>It’s what he said. You can look it up.</p>