[CSeaSee]

Ok, so we've all heard the stories that Al Gore's house uses an insane amount of energy, and that he offsets this by getting his power through this company: TVA: Green Power Switch using CFLs, installing solar panels, etc. My question is this: does anyone know from what specific source the energy powering his home is coming from? Wind? All solar? Coal?

[Ninong]

I'm not sure his home is actually powered by green power, only that he purchases offsetting blocks of green power every month.

" Gore participates in a utility program that sells blocks of "green power" for an extra $4 a month. Gore purchases 108 such blocks every month, covering 16,200 kilowatt-hours and helping subsidize renewable energy sources."

"Utility records show the Gore family paid an average monthly electric bill of about $1,200 last year for its 10,000-square-foot home."

Since his home is more than 10,000 square feet, a monthly average electric bill of $1,200 seems cheap to me. Down here it's quite easy to run up a $500 monthly electric bill in July or August for a 3,000 sq ft home because the central air-conditioning runs 24/7.

That story reminded me of the flap the press made years ago in California when it was discovered that Republican Governor Pete Wilson's home in San Diego used much more water than the average home. It was a large house on a large lot (more than an acre). They even had photos of his home's perfectly manicured lush green lawns. That was during one of the statewide droughts when homeowners were restricted in when they were allowed to water their lawns (every other day and only early in the morning or late in the evening) and some communities even imposed outright bans on watering lawns or washing cars. If I remember correctly, the restrictions varied by community. Where I lived, we were allowed to water lawns every other day but never during the day. And if they noticed any water at all in the street, you got a warning notice for that.

P.S. -- Maybe Al Gore has a large reef tank? Or maybe he's growing weed in his basement?

[zhenya]

Originally Posted by Ninong

P.S. -- Maybe Al Gore has a large reef tank? Or maybe he's growing weed in his basement?

Or maybe Al is busy working on a new Internet and that runs up his bill?