Just about every night on Fox, there's a reprise of the final scene from Bonnie and Clyde. Another global warming denier, another opportunity to blast away at Al Gore. Poor Al, the guy has more holes in him than Darth Vader's hunting buddy Harry Whittington and has been subjected to the most pre-meditated, vile and vicious character assassination attempt since Edward Coke brought down Francis Bacon.
Attack the messenger, that's what the global warming deniers do when they can't compete on the playing field of reasoned intellectual objectivity. It's a time-honored strategy embraced and taught by that dearly departed political huckster Karl Rove. Worry not when you're lacking rationality, intelligence, cognitive reasoning and substantive facts, just sling some ad hominem hash, swift boat 'em and ignore the truth. The folks are busy down at the speedway and won't know it until it's too late. (Please also see the Iraq War, The Clear Skies Initiative, No Child Left Behind, Illegal Wiretapping, Torture, Suspension of Habeas Corpus and Illegal Imprisonment).
Pounding Al is all they have, as there is little credible debate anymore within the scientific community as to the veracity of the global warming crisis.
So, armed with supposedly irrefutable evidence of Gore's environmental hypocrisy they line up at Fox Noise like a pack of rabid dogs eager to take their turn ripping away at poor Al's carcass. It's actually riveting in a perverse kind of way to watch Billo wipe the drool lovingly from Malkin's face as she spits all over herself while verbally eviscerating Al Gore for daring to care about the stupid planet while there is a war in Iran to plan. This is inevitably followed by a sneering diatribe on Gore's monthly utility bill. Well, the truth is that Al Gore practices what he preaches and he lead's an exemplary environmental lifestyle. Here are the facts, without the tired old right-wing distortions and lies.
1. Al Gore has recently completed renovations to make his residence a model "green" home.
2. This plan has been in the works for a long time and has only recently been made public because of attacks by the right.
3. Gore's home meets Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council.
4. Al Gore's neighborhood council had zoning laws that previously prohibited the installation of solar panels. That has now changed and Al Gore has installed solar panels on his roof.
5. He has installed a geothermal system that will drastically reduce the cost of his water heating.
6. He has upgraded his windows and ductwork for maximum energy efficiency.
7. He has installed energy-efficient light bulbs.
8. He has created a rainwater collection system for irrigation and water management.
9. Al Gore drives a hybrid vehicle.
10. Al Gore’s family has signed up for 100% percent green power through Green Power Switch.
11. Al Gore espouses a very consistent belief in purchasing carbon offsets to offset his family’s carbon footprint. This is a concept the right-wing fails to understand and I suggest you do some reading before you discount it.
12. Al Gore flies commercial whenever possible. He is also an ex Vice President of the United States and receives numerous threats. Depending upon the security assessment and his schedule he is sometimes precluded from flying commercial.
13. Al Gore maintains his official office in his home which requires adequate staff and space. He's has no other offices, making it unnecessary to use energy in separate locations.
14. The Gores' energy bills are in line with others in their part of the country. They live in the South, where extreme heat and humidity make air-conditioning the main drain on energy usage.
15. The Gores purchase, at great expense to themselves, "green" energy for their home (green energy costs 50% more than energy from conventional sources).
16. One hundred percent of the profits from Al Gore's book and movie "An Inconvenient Truth" are going to a new bi-partisan educational campaign to further spread the message about global warming in addition to having a thousand people offer his slide presentation to groups around the world.
The purveyors of pseudo-scientific snake oil, are in reality politically motivated right-wing zealots and Ayn Rand "I'll do what I want when I want" disciples. They stand for enabling and protecting corporate profits at the expense of all of us. It's that simple. Pollution control and cleanup costs money, new technologies make their polluting one's obsolete. They can scream and yell from the highest mountaintop about how that is not true, and that won't change the reality . . . it is true. So is Al Gore's message.