Debt Free

Once again, the hypocrisy rolls on. It's another case of “Do as I say, not as I do.” from those that would seek to control our behavior while they do little to control theirs. In this case, one of the leaders of said movement, Al Gore, has been caught red handed in a bit of Inconvenient Truth. For Al the Inconvenient Truth is that he's an energy hog of the first order, all the while stressing to those of us in the consumptive public that we should consume less of everything lest our carbon emissions destroy the earth.

How much does Al consume? At just one of his homes, all larger than the average home most of us reside in, he averages 18,414 kWh per month in electricity alone. You and I average 10,656 KWH annually, according to the U.S. DOE. If you're thinking “Wow, those hot tub parties must really be hot.” he heats those with gas, as you can discern from his equally outrageous natural gas bills, averaging over $1,000 each and every month. I'm not exactly a model of conservation when it comes to gas use. I enjoy long, hot showers that I'm sure consume more than my fair share (Who the hell determines what that is, anyway??) of the stinky, invisible fuel, but I can assure you that my natural gas bills never approach that esteemed figure. That says nothing of the carbon emissions produced by the transportation he takes advantage of while jetting and limoing to the various events and recreational opportunities he regularly attends.

Now, I could give a rat's a** how much energy Mr. Gore consumes, how many large homes he owns, or how resource intensive they are to build and operate. I actually applaud him for achieving that station in life where he can avail himself of those trappings of the good life. What riles me up is that he does this while preaching to all who would listen, and a fair number who would rather not, that we are in a crisis of the first order and should curtail our consumption of natural resources before it spells doom for us all. It got me wondering how many others there are in our midst who would rather witness to the flock the dangers we present to civilization and “The Planet” from our activities, while they live like Czars and Pharaohs.

You've Leo, out there in the hills outside of LA in his 10,000+ square foot house. At least he's got plenty of parking for his Prius. He and the rest of the carbon sasquatchs out there, such as Mr. Gore are actually doing laudable work in an attempt to wean us off fossil fuels, curtail emissions and yank us away from our foreign oil addiction. I applaud them for actually trying to help. What I object to is the hypocrisy associated with it. Living in a home that burns that much energy while railing at me to keep the thermostat dialed back in my 1,400 square foot estate? Why can't he just live in a 5,500 square foot house on the golf course if would like to live a little better? After all, that should be enough space for one couple. As for the entertaining excuse, please, there are innumerable private clubs and fine hotels throughout this land where the enlightened among us could hold fund raisers and soirees.