Politicians' corporate jet flights called wasteful

[Corona]

Gore actually buys green energy (ie renewable) for his homes, which is quite a bit more expensive than regular power. Could he make do with a smaller house? Probably, but he is a public figure and it would probably be difficult trying to fit meetings, offices and his family into a 2,500 sq. ft. ranch-style.

C

 

[Fozzy]

Gore actually buys green energy (ie renewable) for his homes, which is quite a bit more expensive than regular power. Could he make do with a smaller house? Probably, but he is a public figure and it would probably be difficult trying to fit meetings, offices and his family into a 2,500 sq. ft. ranch-style.
C

Ya, he buys his carbon credits from a company he ownes. The rich want to live like kings and they want us serfs to live in huts. They say it is okay for them because they have are what, "carbon neutral"!?! Screw them. He is full of crap and so is this global warming movement. Yes we are affecting the enviorment, but what they are preaching is crap. Just the flavor of the week. I am wondering when they will be coming after my handguns again.

 

[gunfyter]

I think everyone should use NO MORE energy and carbon than AL.

I should be OK since he uses 20 times more than I do now.

 

[transpac]

Gore actually buys green energy (ie renewable) for his homes, which is quite a bit more expensive than regular power. Could he make do with a smaller house? Probably, but he is a public figure and it would probably be difficult trying to fit meetings, offices and his family into a 2,500 sq. ft. ranch-style.

C

Would you be so kind as to explain how the utility company differentiates between "green" and regular energy delivered to a particular house? Did they run separate wires and natural gas pipelines to Al's house?

 

[Ultra Grump]

I just talked to a buddy who is a consultant for numerous utility companies. He said that the way it's supposed to work is you pay a premium over the standard energy rate for "green energy." The utility is supposed to then purchase the amount of power you use from renewable sources (utilities typically are not the producers of electricity, they're more like distributors or retail outlets). That said, California law requires utilities to purchase all the electricity produced by renewable sources (windmills, hydroelectric, etc). So in theory if you live in California, the premium you'd pay would go toward investing in MORE renewable sources.

As for Gore, ultimately his energy comes from the Tennessee Valley Authority which (according to my friend the consultant) was originally set up after the Depression to build dams (i.e., hydroelectric power), and as such is one of the largest producers of renewable energy. However, the TVA is a producer, not a utility, so Gore is not purchasing his power direct from them, but rather through a utility (likely the Nashville Electric Source).

Here is what the NES says about their green power program:

Green Power Switch®

[FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Making the Green Power Switch® is easy. This renewable energy initiative offers our customers a choice in the type of power they buy.

[/FONT] What is green power? Green power is electricity generated from clean, renewable resources such as solar, wind and methane gas.

How much does it cost? You can buy green power in 150-kilowatt-hour blocks (about 12 percent of a typical household's monthly energy use). Each block will add $4 to your monthly power bill. Green power cost more because the technology used to capture these renewable resources is more expensive than traditional power generation methods.
Sign up for Green Power Switch®.

Wind Power
Power out of thin air! Wind turbines can generate electric power anywhere the wind blows steady and strong. Large blades are attached to the shaft of an efficient electric generator. By using the momentum of moving air they create power. Eighteen turbines have been added to TVA's wind power generating site on Buffalo Mountain near Oak Ridge, TN.

Solar Power
The sun is an incredibly powerful source of energy. Photovoltaic panels harness that power and transform solar energy into usable electricity. When sun rays hit a solar panel, some of the electrons inside become charged and create an electrical current.

Methane Gas
There's treasure in your trash. Using methane gas as fuel to power an electric generator actually helps reduce air pollution. Unlike when it's released directly into the atmosphere as a potent greenhouse gas. Energy recovered from methane eliminates the consumption of more than 20,000 tons of coal per year.

Does it really make a difference?
[FONT=&quot]

Two blocks of 480 lbs. of 1,766 lbs of​

[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]

green power each = recycled aluminum or newspaper​

[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]

month for a year (15,322 cans!)​

[/FONT] The environmental impact of traditional energy sources like coal, natural gas, oil and nuclear power can be significant. Although no source of energy is impact-free, renewable resources create less waste and pollution. In fact, a green power investment of $8 per month on your electric bill is equivalent to not driving your car for four months.

 

[Corona]

Would you be so kind as to explain how the utility company differentiates between "green" and regular energy delivered to a particular house? Did they run separate wires and natural gas pipelines to Al's house?

Gladly.
Green power is created from renewable sources such as solar, wind, hydraulic (water) etc. Differs from non-renewables which basically are fossil fuels. Since the energy is initially more expensive to produce, it costs more if you opt for it. On the plus side, green energy does not have the price spikes that plague other sources.
Naturally the power doesn't go via different lines. All power goes into "the grid", whether it is solar, coal, hydraulic, nuclear etc, etc. Part of the greater expense can be taken to create more generating plants.
Natural gas is not renewable but is probably the most benign of carbon-based fuel sources. It burns very clean; basically just CO2 and water as by-products.
(Ultragrump did a better job of breaking down all the sources.)

The environmental impact of traditional energy sources like coal, natural gas, oil and nuclear power can be significant. Although no source of energy is impact-free, renewable resources create less waste and pollution. In fact, a green power investment of $8 per month on your electric bill is equivalent to not driving your car for four months.

"Impact" is the key; all power generation has impact on the environment and people. Green energy has the least.
C

 

[Corona]

The left is just trying to get votes....How big is super liberal Nancy's P airplane????? As long as the environment Hollywood flys around in Jets they will never go away....

Ridiculous.
Nancy Pelosi is third in line for the Presidency and needs a secure method of travel. She is flown around by the government, not lobbyists.

C

 

[gunfyter]

Pelosi

Ridiculous

YES!

 

[xpdriver]

Ridiculous.
Nancy Pelosi is third in line for the Presidency and needs a secure method of travel. She is flown around by the government, not lobbyists.

C

A G5 will make it across country and so will a G4 She just wants a big plane to fly her friends and family to and from her vineyard in napa...


And as for Gore...His pool house and pool cost more per month then the average home in the US..PlS give me a f%ckin break about buying credits and what ever..How much gas did his limo cost to and from the oscars...And how did he get to LA...? I'm not doing sh&t until hollywood sells their 10000 sq foot homes and start walking the walk.....GAS... BURN BABY BURN....

 

[Ultra Grump]

So if W told you that burning fossil fuels is bad, that developing alternative energy sources was good, would you listen then?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070309/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/bush_latin_america_40

Bush hails biofuels pact in Brazil

By DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer

AO PAULO, Brazil - At a mega fuel depot for tanker trucks, President Bush heralded a new ethanol agreement with Brazil Friday as way to boost alternative fuels production across the Americas. Demonstrators upset with Bush's visit here worry that the president and his biofuels buddy, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, really have visions of an OPEC-like cartel on ethanol.

But Bush and Silva said increasing alternative fuel use will lead to more jobs, a cleaner environment and greater independence from the whims of the oil market. In Brazil, nearly eight in 10 new cars already run on fuel made from sugar cane.

"`It makes sense for us to collaborate for the sake of mankind," Bush said at Silva's side, after touring the depot. "We see the bright and real potential for our citizens being able to use alternative sources of energy that will promote the common good."

The agreement itself was signed Friday morning by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Brazilian counterpart, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe announced.

Bush's focus on energy during the first stop on his eighth trip to Latin America comes as the president's nemesis in the region, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, is using his vast oil wealth to court allies. Bush's trip also includes visits to Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico.
At the fuel depot, Bush, sporting a white hard hat, fingered sunflower seeds and stalks of sugar cane and sniffed beakers of yellowish biodiesel and clear ethanol.
The depot is operated by a subsidiary of the state-owned Petrobras, where about 100 trucks come and go daily. About a half mile from the site, a large white balloon hung in the sky emblazoned with blue letters that said "Bush Out" in both English and Portuguese. The "s" in Bush was replaced by a swastika.

On his 45-minute ride from the airport to his hotel on Thursday night, Bush's motorcade sped by a dozen or so gas stations where drivers in this traffic-clogged city can pump either gasoline or ethanol.

Bystanders gawked at Bush's limousine, but only a few people waved. Anti-American sentiment runs high in Brazil, especially over the war in Iraq. Bush missed the demonstrations earlier in the day protesting his visit.

Riot police fired tear gas and beat some protesters with batons after more than 6,000 people held a largely peaceful march through the financial district of Sao Paulo. About 4,000 agents, including Brazilian troops and FBI and U.S. Secret Service officers, are working to secure Bush's stay in the city that lasts about 24 hours.

Authorities did not disclose the number of injuries in Thursday's demonstrations, but Brazilian news media said at least 18 people were hurt and news photographs showed injured people being carried away.

Undeterred by protests, Bush says he's on a goodwill tour to talk about making sure the benefits of democracy — in the form of better housing, health care and education — are available to all Latin Americans, not just the wealthy.
In Latin America, however, Bush's trip is widely viewed as a way for the president to counter the influence of Chavez, the populist ally of Cuba's Fidel Castro, who has led a leftward political shift in Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia and Nicaragua.

To taunt Bush, the Venezuelan leader will speak at an "anti-imperialist" rally in a soccer stadium on Saturday in Buenos Aires, Argentina, about 40 miles across the Plate River from Montevideo, where Bush will meet Uruguay's president, Tabare Vazquez.

Some protesters, carrying stalks of sugar cane, protested the ethanol agreement. The demonstrators warned that increased ethanol production could lead to social unrest because most operations are run by wealthy families or corporations that reap the profits, while the poor are left to cut the cane with machetes.

"Bush and his pals are trying to control the production of ethanol in Brazil, and that has to be stopped," said Suzanne Pereira dos Santos of Brazil's Landless Workers Movement.

The White House dismisses talk that the ethanol agreement between Bush and Silva is aimed at setting up an "OPEC of Ethanol" cartel led by Washington and Brasilia.

Bush said he wants to work with Brazil, a pioneer in ethanol production for decades, to push the development of alternative fuels in Central America and the Caribbean. He and Silva also want to see standards set in the growing industry to help turn ethanol into an internationally traded commodity.

"It's not about production-sharing, it's about encouraging development and encourage the Caribbean and Central American countries to get into the game," Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, said.

In January, Bush called on Congress to require the annual use of 35 billion gallons of ethanol and other alternative fuels such as biodiesel by 2017, a fivefold increase over current requirements. To help meet the goal, the president also is pushing research into making ethanol from material such as wood chips and switchgrass.

One roadblock in the Bush-Silva ethanol talks is a 54-cent tariff the United States has imposed on every gallon of ethanol imported from Brazil. Bush says it's not up for discussion.

W doesn't walk the walk either, reference the last paragraph. A 54 cent tariff on sugar-cane enthanol, which just happens to be much more efficient than corn ethanol.