Al Gore gets gold on Tennessee digs
What a great thing to read, particularly on the heels of this diary earlier today. The "gold" refers to the second-highest rating available from the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program, and the Gores' home is one of only fourteen in the country to achieve it.
Please read on....
An Associated Press article has this to say:
"Short of tearing it down and staring anew, I don't know how it could have been rated any higher," said Kim Shinn of the U.S. Green Building Council, which gave the house its second-highest rating for sustainable design.
Gore's improvements cut the home's summer electrical consumption by 11 percent compared with a year ago, according to utility records reviewed by The Associated Press. Most Nashville homes used 20 percent to 30 percent more electricity during the same period because of a record heat wave.
Shinn said Gore's renovations are impressive because his home, which is more than 80 years old, had to meet the same rigorous standards as new construction.
"One of the things that is tremendously powerful about what the Gores have done is demonstrate that you can take a home that was a dog, and absolute energy pig, and do things to correct that," Shinn said.
Incredible. An 80-year old home, once an energy hog, reduced its electricity usage by 11% at the same time most other homes in the area used 20-30% more electricity due to record high temperatures. Not only that, it had to meet the same standards as a just-built home would.
Obviously few of us have the financial means to retrofit our homes the way the Gores have done. But we must continue doing whatever is within our own means to conserve and encourage everyone we know to do likewise. There have been many diaries in the past, and there will be more to come, that give practical tips on what each of us can do, so there's no need for me to rehash that. But what the Gore home shows us is what's possible, and more importantly, what's potentially within reach of all homeowners, were the government to get serious about alternative energy. The joke of an energy bill that finally passed Congress could have provided a serious push down that road, had it not been gutted of its most important features. For more on that, see Devilstower's front page post.
Gore gets a lot of criticism about the size of his home. I can't say one way or the other if his home is "too big," because I don't know what his needs are. But I'm guessing the Gores need that extra space quite a bit more than the average homeowner. Personally, I'm inclined to find far greater fault with brand new McMansions that have been going up all around the country for years now, and in which only a few people reside. And those people aren't the former Vice President and his family.
Hold your elected representatives accountable for their votes on the energy bill, and never for a minute let them think we are willing to settle for such toothless legislation.