If you were waiting for Al Gore to follow through on his promise to make his Nashville, TN home a model "green" home, wait no more.
Here it is - the new rooftop of Al Gore's house with spanking new solar panels
(AP photo)
This is the first time I'm inserting a picture in a diary. Hope it works as I actually read the FAQ's to do the Photo Bucket thing - whatever that is. :)
In an Associated Press interview, Gore responded to the phony attacks levelled against him a few months ago by a conservative think tank in Tennessee for consuming too much energy
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Al Gore, the environmental activist stung by criticism over his house's energy efficiency, said Friday that renovations are nearly complete to make it a model "green" home.
"This plan has been in the works for a long time," the former vice president said in an interview with The Associated Press. "The only thing that has changed is that we're more public about it because of the misleading attack by a global-warming denier group."
Gore's renovation project, which he said has been in the works for months, seeks to meet the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council.
Now, I'm no environmental guru (there are people here on Daily Kos with far greater knowledge on the subject than me) but it seems to me that Gore is a man who practices what he preaches. After his neighborhood council passed new zoning laws - ones that previously prohibited the installation of solar panels - Gore said that he'd be able to take the following additional steps
- install a geothermal system that will, among other things, drastically reduce the cost of heating his pool.
- upgrade windows and ductwork.
- install more energy-efficient light bulbs.
- create a rainwater collection system for irrigation and water management.
On other issues, his responses were
- To the question of whether he'll run in 2008, he replied, "You know my answer on that." He did not rule out a run though.
- Criticized George W. Bush for not taking a tougher stand on emissions standards at the G-8 Meeting in Germany. "They're still on dead center, and it's mainly because of Bush blocking it."
Gore said that he was busy with final preparations for his 'Live Earth' Concert. You may have heard that several rightwing organizations are up in arms as NBC and its affiliated networks will be devoting 75 hours on Saturday, July 7th to broadcast the concerts to a worldwide audience expected to be around two billion people. See the list of these wingnut groups here.
In case you didn't hear about it, Al Gore won Spain's most prestigious prize this past Wednesday for his "decisive contribution to progress in solving the grave problems of climate change which threaten our planet."
(AP photo)
Meanwhile, we've all become used to Republican political analysts promoting Hillary Clinton's candidacy as they think she'd unite their party, energize their base, and that they could defeat her in 2008. I actually found one, Roger Stone (he worked for both Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan), who said this about Gore - someone Stone actively opposed during the 2000 Florida Recount
Gore, Stone said, "is a giant compared to the Democrats who are running for president. His popularity is at an all-time high; he has turned out to be right as far as his party is concerned about the two major issues of the day — the war, where he's been the most articulate critic, and global warming, which is his signature issue that he was in the wilderness on and now everyone thinks it's true."
Gore, he said, "has handled himself extremely well in these years out of office. He's pacing himself."
On that assertion - that Al Gore is the best qualified of all the Democratic candidates - I wouldn't argue with Stone.
Note - More good news for Al Gore. If you didn't read this diary by diarist d bad, please recommend it - New AP Poll: Al Gore tied for second place. Thanks.
(cross posted at Truth & Progress)