Marie Antoinette: Let them buy carbon-offsets
BillHobbs.com – Grassroots journalism from Nashville. — Since Hollywood’s poster boy was found to be burning through energy like a drunk through Muscatel he made the rather odd claim that he is carbon-neutral since he buys “carbon offsets.” A few bloggers have discovered that he owns the carbon offset trading company. Cripes. This sort of thing is worthy of Marie Antoinette.
In its original story, The Tennessean reported that Gore buys “carbon offsets” to compensate for his home’s use of energy from carbon-based fuels. As Wikipedia explains, a carbon offset “is a service that tries to reduce the net carbon emissions of individuals or organizations indirectly, through proxies who reduce their emissions and/or increase their absorption of greenhouse gases.”
Wikipedia goes on to explain that “a wide variety of offset actions are available; tree planting is the most common. Renewable energy and energy conservation offsets are also popular, including emissions trading credits.”
So far, so good. But how Gore buys his “carbon offsets,” as revealed by The Tennessean raises serious questions. According to the newspaper’s report, Gore buys his carbon offsets through Generation Investment Management:
Gore helped found Generation Investment Management, through which he and others pay for offsets. The firm invests the money in solar, wind and other projects that reduce energy consumption around the globe…
Gore is chairman of the firm and, presumably, draws an income or will make money as its investments prosper. In other words, he “buys” his “carbon offsets” from himself, through a transaction designed to boost his own investments and return a profit to himself. To be blunt, Gore doesn’t buy “carbon offsets” through Generation Investment Management – he buys stocks.
And it is not clear at all that Gore’s stock purchases – excuse me, “carbon offsets” purchases – actually help reduce the use of carbon-based energy at all, while the gas lanterns and other carbon-based energy burners at his house continue to burn carbon-based fuels and pump carbon emissions – a/k/a/ “greenhouse gases” – into the atmosphere.
Gore’s people tout his purchase of “carbon offsets” as evidence that he lives a “carbon-neutral” lifestyle, but the truth is Gore’s home uses electricity that is, for the most part, derived from the burning of carbon fuels. His house gets its electricity from Nashville Electric Service, which gets its from the Tennessee Valley Authority, which produces most of its power from coal-burning power plants. Which means most of the power being consumed at the Gore mansion comes from carbon-emitting power sources.
Let’s be real here and skip all this. The entire carbon-offset business is an out-and-out scam. Give me a break.
#13 Actually that pic of Gore all made up goes back to his debates when he was wearing too much make-up that one time. So I added some extra. I go to that pic every so often. It cracks me up.
#32 Gore isn’t running for anything. So a “hit piece” is pointless. As for the idea that Republicans are all hot for making money — so Gore is doing the same — good for him! What kind of rationale is that? Besides, I don’t think the blog has been pushing greed on the part of Republicans or do you actually ever read our perspective? This is not a Republican blog by any means.
The fact is, if you are going to take the high road, as Gore does, at least be on that road. He’s not.
Global warming seems evident but there is no supporting data proof that humans are the cause of it.
Chapter 1 of “Climate Change 2001” reads:
“The fact that the global mean temperature has increased since the late 19th Century and that other trends have been observed does not necessarily mean that an anthropogenic effect on the climate system has been identified. Climate has always varied on all time-scales, so the observed change may be natural.”
Gore is just another hypocrite who NEEDS attention like every other political manipulative dink, so he and his wife can continue living in luxury… ALONE J… in their 20 room mansion, and from what I’ve read, that’s not the only house he owns.
jjoker
Don’t personally know the man but I guess he is o.k. Don’t care for his wife all that much due to her labeling music.nonsense in the 90’s
Why you are betting on my under type or style is beyond me. Have a little hidden secret you would like to share? If you must know I wear Hanes Boxer Briefs and no they don’t say anything on them.
This is a very serious topic. It only involves the future survival of the human race Pfff no biggy!
I got more “friends” than I need. Don’t own an SUV and I have no guilt.
JimR
Uh no Jim they don’t live alone due a little reseach before you make dumb statments.
Hey, the jjoke was on you ‘j’ get it? Or is this all just way too serial?
“Jim they don’t live alone due a little reseach before you make dumb statments.”
Okay, J… let’s see your proof. You know… the “reseach” that you “due” that make my “statments” look dumb.
#38 JimR Nice….
All this proves is that Gore is a fraud. Just like man made global warming is a fraud. Follow the money.
#30 – If you could possibly have a discussion without personal insults , that would be refreshing.
As for your version of the data, you basically proved my point in trying to disprove it. India is catching up on on OVERALL CO2 emissions. Right now, they are at around 5% of the level of industrialization of the US.
Do the math. I did not claim India was the world leader *today*. I make the statement that if we really want to do something that will help, we will pour money into researching how to help India industrialize WITHOUT POLLUTING. You know – in the future.
If the entire country was as air-conditioned – JUST air conditioning, mind you – as the U.S. is today, they would top us by a long, huge number as to total CO2 emissions. My comment was intended to put an eye toward the future instead of assigning blame and pissing in a hurricane.
As for China – Well, I seriously doubt your numbers, but let’s pretend you are 100% correct. China is actively seeking to expand their manufacturing/industrial base. According to YOUR figures, we’re 50% above them today – I doubt your figures but let’s take them as gospel for the sake of this discussion. They’re just getting started and our manufacturing/industrial base is shrinking.
Do the math. If they double their output in the next 20 years…while ours decreases simply due to the loss of the physical factories…seems pretty obvious to me, but then I’m not trying to kiss Al Gore’s backside.
If we (as a species, not the U.S.) can’t find a viable way to slow China and India (and Pakistan and Russia too) from dumping this stuff into the atmos for the next 50 years, nothing the United States does in the next 50 will amount to a hill of beans. The solution has to allow for growth, allow for manufacturing and allow for economic expansion while reducing the mount of CO2 that goes out. Otherwise it’s a complete waste of time.
Now, can we get back to Gore profiting from his current religion of carbon offsets, or do you just want to pretend that isn’t happening and distract from the discussion with another endless round of global warming arguments that truthfully, neither of us are qualified to make?
First, there has not been any comment from Al Gore or his family about this. His house is a personal expense and I doubt if his “office” would really have any true knowledge of what his actual power use is. Until Al Gore, or someone in the family, verifies what the use is then I will view this very skeptically.
Second, Nashville Energy Service DOES NOT release customer information. No one has shown any proof that Gore’s house used over 220 KW last year, only the right wing nut blogs. Even the Main Stream Media has only quoted the blogs numbers. We only have the obviously biased word of these wing nuts that that is Al Gore’s actual energy usage.
Third, Carbon Offsets may be open to fraud, but that is still better then nothing. Which, BTW, is what the deniers want. The US produces more CO2 per person then any other country, yet does nothing as a nation and individually is intent upon smearing anyone who tries to make a difference.
NES buys it’s power from the TVA. They get roughly 60% of their power from coal. The rest come from nuclear and water.
Fourth, the blog is all comment. Yes, it references other sources, that have not done any fact checking of their own. If it is on the internet, then it must be true. Its tenor though really leaves the whole blog suspect. Gore has a Secret Service detail that goes with him everywhere. So when this blog chastises Gore for voting then you know something is wrong. The SS detail will choose the transportation and method. They also installed the security lights around his home.
My conclusion is this is a Swift Boat campaign. If there is verified proof that his home uses this much energy then I would love to see it and will apologize for my error. If there is no proof, then would the Gore slayers please apologize? Geeze, the Republicans must be running scared to smear a man not even in the race.
I think I am going to beat JCD on this one.
HITLER!
Godwin’s Law shall never die!
#42 – How would offsets reduce carbon emissions without restricting growth in the developing nations? A better question is perhaps, how can the world economies come into parity without a net increase in the carbon emission rate?
Should companies in developing nations be restricted in their growth because of the threat of global warming? Is that the goal of offsets, to restrict growth (perhaps short term)?
Should individuals in developing nations have their purchasing decisions dictated by the trickle-down effects of carbon trading?
Carbon Offset companies are GOOD. The Government should provide the Carbon Offsetting service, but for now they DON’T. So it is only great that nice people as Al Gore take the innitiative to invest in the creation of those sorts of undertaking.
Carbon Offset initiatives could mean to invest in research and development in Solar, Wind, Electric, Hydrogen, as it could mean investment in actually planting trees, installing solar panels wherever it makes sence to install solar panels and installing wind farms wherever it makes sence to install wind farms.
The Government should be investing in offsetting the carbon emissions, and to change our energy industries to offset all carbon emissions. But the Governments are NOT doing this today.
#44, The intent is to stop the increase in CO2 emissions. I am not an expert on Kyoto, global warming, or Al Gore’s electrical bill. If you have any comments, then maybe you could make them instead of trying to make me look foolish answering questions I have not tried to defend or advocate.
malren
Well of course India Would put out more CO2 if they air conditioned everyone they have more than 3 time the population we do.
Pakistan? Out of what ass are you pulling that country. They are not even in the top 20. Do you perhaps just not like those people?
~5,916,000,000 annual tons of CO2 Combined total CO2 of Russia, Peoples Rep. of China, and India.
~5,844,000,000 annual tons CO2 USA all by ourselves.
Can you do math? For you to say “nothing the United States does in the next 50 will amount to a hill of beans” is just plane stupid!
I won’t even bother to compare the populations of those countries combined compared to the USA
The only thing you are even remotley close on is that China and India do have high growth rates.
Malren you are so far gone that I don’t even feel the need to beat on your complete ignorance on this topic.
JimR
Which evidence Jim? It is plentiful and I wouldn’t want to overwhelm the blog. If you are referring to Global warming evidence goto google and in less than a few mouse click you should be able to find many links that will show you the “evidence”.
If you refer to Al Gore and the status of his household. It doesn’t take an Einstein to figure 24 hour a day Secret Service for him and his wife means a minimum of 2 agents 24 hours a day where ever they are. Now I won’t say if there are more than two because that would be classified information and I wouldn’t have access to that nor would anyone else on this side of the fence. But I assure you there are no fewer than 2 agents with him and his wife at all times therefore you statement that they live alone is just false.
MSNBC Keith olberman reported that the Gore home includes offices for both Gore and his wife and “special security measure” http://tinyurl.com/25nem6 Take a peek it was reported elsewhere but I will let you do a little leg work yourself.
It took me less than 1 min to find this info in numerous places. If you couldn’t…. well that just shows how much you really want the facts.
jjoker
Wow he really got me on my accidental use of “due” instead of “do”. I better rethink this whole global warming thing because he just proved that I type the wrong word. If I were you I would check everything you typed because I may get it in me to nail you on every single mis-use of the English language. but then again this is a blog comment section and people sometimes mis-type.
Cripes Gwendle you jumped the gun.
There is one issue I do want to clear up. Al Gore did NOT win an Academy Award. Davis Guggenheim is the person that was given the award. Al Gore went up on stage and spoke but he was not a nominee himself therefore is not entitled to have that award sitting on his mantle in his name.
I wish you right wing ass munches would stop saying that he won an Oscar. As somehow that makes the content of the movie less accurate. Trying to equate push the general thought that an Oscar is for “fictional stories” is just a lame attempt at best. Do you really think the American people are that stupid? Some of use are 3 or 4 steps ahead of you and can see right through your nonsensical bullshit.
It only goes to show you that the right wing never really gets its facts straight.
Any bets they either give it to him to display or that he gets a copy to display? And exactly when did the right-wing say h won an Oscar and exactly who is this right-wing?
Whatever,
Your looking at Globalism at it’s finiest, the rich will continue to live they way they do and the middle class will be disenfranchised. If he was trying to prove a point, it would meant more to give up his car and his huge house, and live in an small apartment. How much room does he need, they don’t have kids living with them, it’s just him and his weido wife.
This points towards the future where the rich will be able to afford things like gas, cars, and heat for their homes. I think it’s funny that Gorie is the first to show how and why the rich want this type of economy. Look at all the extra ways to make money and entire new way of taking money from the middle class will be established, allowing the elites to tighten their control over the economy and the new caste system.
I understand why the Commies like Islam, both systems create a centrally control elitist system with castes that can not be overcome.
Yep I’ll bet. The AMPAS has very strict rules when it comes to the Oscar. If you aint nominated and don’t win you don’t get one. Pretty much that simple.
They have been chatting about it on their little talk shows even before the ceremony. They don’t attack him about it but they do understand how it reads with their viewers when they make the connection to Hollywood and the Oscars. Sometimes they make snide little comments like “the Hollywood liberal elite has given Al Gore an Award” or something to that effect.
Now as a point of truth. Yes the other media has also made this mistake but they don’t approach as if it was a bad thing. They do it as an honest mistake where as the Feux News does it as a truth bending expedition
J, you’re looking very dumb here. Malren has it right, and if you followed any of the global warming/climate change modeling, you would know that all of these models predict China being the number one ‘polluter’ in short order. I put ‘polluter’ in quotes because CO2 isn’t pollution. It’s not too hard to figure out that when you restrict one country’s emissions, people are more likely to put factories in the other country where it’s cheaper, and you don’t have to buy carbon offsets.
Carbon offsets aren’t a scam. Russia signed the Kyoto Treaty so they could get lots of money from these offsets, since they’re measuring from a 1990 base when Russia was at its maximum pollution.
I sure wish your blog wouldn’t continue this right wing smear job of Gore. I’m no Gore supporter, but the facts are also that he purchases green power. This story has already been debunked. (The ones who broke the news didn’t even approach the utility for the actual power numbers, the power company has announced they have not released any data.) Lets move on.
Dimension, I looked through that report, and didn’t see that hockey stick of worldwide CO2 emissions rising suddenly in the last 50 years after being stable for centuries. Where’d it go? It’s right there in the third report. http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/wg1/fig3-2.htm
I thought there was a scientific consensus back in 2001 also? Was I wrong? Did they just throw on that chart when the scientists weren’t looking? I’m wondering what will change in the 5th report in 2014 or so.
All I see are those calling him a hypocrite, cripes, are no better than he is. I’m sure no one even comes close to our 4-member tree hugging family, that reads this blog.
His house is a mansion…so let’s say he sells it? Someone else will buy it and use up all the electricity & natural gas, most likely in larger quantities.
Al Gore is still my *hero*, before calling him names, take a good look at yourself, your lifestyle.
For a lousy 500$ you can upgrade your polluting car to a PZEV, just push your dealer for it. You’ll lose maybe 5-10 horsepower and cut your emissions by 90%, w/o buying a new car or a hybrid.
Then look up why in Cage Match, This & That, Green Thread, that Ford/GM/Chrysler have not offered PZEV to the consumers.
Because Americans car buyers are too damn cheap.
All cars should have window tinting and PZEV by law, especially SUV’s.
I for one am only calling him a hypocrite for calling for the rest of us to make sacrifices he’s not making himself.
I am NOT decrying his lifestyle – he’s actually living the CORRECT lifestyle. It’s not possible to make cars or houses too big. The ideal home has 2000 sq. ft. per occupant. In the ideal world, you need to drive to your nearest neighbor’s mansion from your own because you’re that far apart. In the ideal world, you’re 2 hour minimum commute is not due to traffic, but to distance.
#53 the chart of the ice ages implies it was the Industrial revolution and perhaps 300 years of abuse that credits man with the spike. It will take 300 years to reverse at least. This doesn;t seem like a fast process.
#58, you continue to impress me. Your Alias is more indicative that you are part of the problem, not one doing it on purpose, but like most people, have no other choice.
Sadly, I blame the middle-class, that I consider to be part of. I was also part of the problem up until early 2006. Less so now.
FWIW, I don’t feel that depriving myself of an SUV, instead driving my Prius for the same monthly total amount.
I agree that Al Gore is living the correct lifestyle, because Al is in that special category, the top 1% of Americans that have money & education. It’s not that 1% that are the most wasters, per person.
It’s the middle class that consumes and wastes the most in NA & Europe. Just look at how many computers, cell phones, cars, paper, all wasted in the last 15 years.
That all took pollution creating energy to produce, and to dispose of.
Nice touch, our Canadian Gov’t is offering a 15% tax credit just by keeping your old monthly public transit passes.
MikeN
Point out exactly how I look dumb? Can you disprove anything I said?
No one is saying that China isn’t a problem. Why is it when proof is show that the USA is the #1, always has been, CO2 emitter whether it is per capita or in total annual emissions that you guys bring up China and India? Were you the kind of child that sad “but bobby’s doing it too” when you parents punished you for doing something wrong? CHILDISH! Of course we need to get China and India on board.
Wait a minute “global warming/climate change modeling” I don’t know how many times people on your side of the fence have run around saying that we don’t have any evidence except climate models. You can’t say that’s all the evidence we have in an effort to de bunk global warming and the turn around and use the same information to prove that China will be the largest CO2 emitter.
Again China has 4 X our population. India has 3 X our population. It is expected that they will have higher emissions than us at some point. the issue is right now we are the hogs of the planet. per capita and in total. We need to reduce our emissions and at the same time convince China and India as well as many other countries to do the same.
How do we do this? Well……Using green energy is one. Using greener manufacturing processes. Using greener or more efficient transportation. Plenty of room for new industry to prosper and make great profits for selling these new and better technology. But you go ahead and be short sided. Keep wrongly thinking that any cut back will be bad for our economy. People like me who have always profited from the stock market, even when others lost there ass in 87′, make loads of money from these new technology stocks.
Also lets not pretend you understand what is involved in opening a factory in China. You spit that out like you could even fathom the difficulty in that endeavor and that companies will run like school children to a place they can do whatever they want. Far from the case my friend so don’t try to use that as a scare tactic to influence your right wing drones. You have no idea of the cost. You have no idea of the restrictions you just simply have no idea.
Mark, can you get a refrigerator and 6 4×8 sheets of plywood all purchased together on a whim home in your Prius? If not, don’t try and lie to me that it’s a useful vehicle.
#62, TheGlobalWarmer, been giving you praise!
This thread and others on the same subject, that you comment on, you defend well the POV of people requiring certain vehicles to get the job done.
However, a decent sized pickup truck, versus those GM SUV monsters, will accomplish the same task.
However, it’s a simple task to put a hitch on the Prius, some have done it (see http://www.priuschat.com), and in such scenarios, the Prius will use up the same amount of gas as a regular sized car with a trailer.
When you’re done moving things, you get rid of the extra weight & drag, which makes more sense than lugging over two tons of vehicle for personal use.
Take mini-vans, most have V6, even though V4’s are available. But the SUV has outclassed the mini-van in weight, pollution, looks (they’re uglier).
I constantly see “soccer moms” driving SUV’s when they had before a mini-van, under the false pretense of being safer.
SUV’s are deadlier, both for the driver & his passengers, and whoever the driver hits.