6/18/2008

Drew Johnson (a former intern of mine) does it again with Gore

So much for the claimed energy savings from all the green efforts that Al Gore engaged in for his home. You would think that the energy savings might even be exaggerated because Gore's life is so closely examined. The Tennessee Center for Policy Research report can be seen here:

Energy Guzzled by Al Gore’s Home in Past Year Could Power 232 U.S. Homes for a Month
Gore’s personal electricity consumption up 10%, despite “energy-efficient” home renovations

NASHVILLE - In the year since Al Gore took steps to make his home more energy-efficient, the former Vice President’s home energy use surged more than 10%, according to the Tennessee Center for Policy Research.

“A man’s commitment to his beliefs is best measured by what he does behind the closed doors of his own home,” said Drew Johnson, President of the Tennessee Center for Policy Research. “Al Gore is a hypocrite and a fraud when it comes to his commitment to the environment, judging by his home energy consumption.”

In the past year, Gore’s home burned through 213,210 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, enough to power 232 average American households for a month.

In February 2007, An Inconvenient Truth, a film based on a climate change speech developed by Gore, won an Academy Award for best documentary feature. The next day, the Tennessee Center for Policy Research uncovered that Gore’s Nashville home guzzled 20 times more electricity than the average American household.

After the Tennessee Center for Policy Research exposed Gore’s massive home energy use, the former Vice President scurried to make his home more energy-efficient. Despite adding solar panels, installing a geothermal system, replacing existing light bulbs with more efficient models, and overhauling the home’s windows and ductwork, Gore now consumes more electricity than before the “green” overhaul.

Since taking steps to make his home more environmentally-friendly last June, Gore devours an average of 17,768 kWh per month –1,638 kWh more energy per month than before the renovations – at a cost of $16,533. By comparison, the average American household consumes 11,040 kWh in an entire year, according to the Energy Information Administration. . . .

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4 Comments:

Blogger bmayer said...

"In the past year, Gore’s home burned through 213,210 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, enough to power 232 average American households for a month."

Come on! At least keep your units consistent. It isn't that big of a deal to say that Gore's house uses 19.3 times as much energy as an average American household. You still get to make your point about Gore not walking the walk.

6/18/2008 1:50 PM  
Blogger John Lott said...

Dear BMayer:

I agree, I would have used the 19.3 number, but it is still an interesting number. In addition, I think that Gore has three other homes so presumably he is not living in that house all year long. It would be interesting to get the number for all four together.

6/18/2008 2:23 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

So we now know that Al Gore doesn't practice what he preaches. However, Drew Johnson should be ashamed of himself snooping around in someone's private affairs. What goes on in someone's house is their own damn business.

6/18/2008 8:50 PM  
Blogger John Lott said...

Dear 4thamendment:

Normally I would agree, but Al Gore wants to regulate everyone's behavior. The only defense that others have to stop him from doing this might be the types of things that Drew is doing. If Gore thinks that it is OK for the government to monitor how much electricity that others use, surely he can't object to people looking at what he is using.

6/18/2008 9:03 PM  

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