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May 30, 2006
neutr-al gore
As CEI pointed out last week, Al Gore's Carbon Footprint™ is huge. He's flying all over the world in a carbon-fuel-burning jet to tell us all how bad it is to burn carbon fuels. Apparently CEI's criticism hit a nerve; this week he's assuring Brits at the Hay Festival that he's still not part of the problem:
"[Al Gore] said he was 'carbon neutral' himself and he tried to offset any plane flight or car journey by 'purchasing verifiable reductions in CO2 elsewhere.'" BBC News
Pardon me, Al, but if the trend in burning carbon fuels is running so much in the wrong direction, won't those who are concerned about it have to go beyond carbon neutrality and maintain a negative carbon footprint? There are lots of things you could do; stop making movies, which expend huge amounts of mother nature's resources, stop flying to Cannes to hobnob with other carbon neutral humvee-driving Hollywood do-gooders. You could also take a page from Bubba's playbook, and not exhale as much.
But you haven't done even that much, Al. Today you're delivering the environmental equivilent to your hilariously infamous sound byte on social security: as far as your own carbon footprint goes, you would put carbon emissions in a lock box. Zero sum game.
It's the rest of us peons, the ones with a comparitively miniscule carbon footprint who are supposed to go well beyond carbon neutral, and move mountains with a toothpick. We've got to cut our once-in-two-years trip to Disney Land so you can float to your next speech on a river of burning hydrocarbons. And this is populism.
Posted by joel at May 30, 2006 03:32 PM
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Comments
//supposed to go well beyond carbon neutral// Nah, anywhere close would work. Most of us go way beyond carbon neutral in the wrong direction.
If he's buying CO2 credits, then it's certainly possible he's CO2 neutral. Being green isn't just about intent, it's about money - don't let us liberals convince you otherwise. I could drive just as well and for less money in a cheap economy car compared to a hybrid. But if it's worth it to me to be a bit green, I'll spend the money on the hybrid. I could take a pay cut and work close to my house, removing the need for a commuter car. It may feel like cheating that he's flying around the world then just cancelling out his carbon debt with cash, but if the end result is less carbon then that's more than I've ever done.
Posted by: Worldgineer ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.chezjoel.com//nav-commenters.gif)
at May 31, 2006 01:40 PM
hot button ... hot button
i like the idea of many of us going back to the days of neighborhoods in which we live and work and recreate and worship and walk and be a part of a community big enough / small enough to get to or from our farthest friend's house in 10 minutes - on foot - carrying a pot of hot soup that is still warm and edible on arrival. Oh to go back to the future - but one can dream, can't one?
Posted by: uncle jim at May 31, 2006 08:07 PM
That's a good dream, Uncle Jim, but 60 years of zoning laws that strictly separate where we work from where we shop from where we live and federally-subsidized sprawl, plus subsidized "urban renewal" of traditional neighborhoods have made that kind of community pretty scarce. Some "new urbanist" planners are trying to turn back the clock to create the kind of place you describe, but they run into all sorts of obstacles from zoning officials and bankers who just don't get it.
I don't think Algore deserves any credit for "neutralizing" his massive CO2 output. Did he buy his credits from some Kalahari Bushman who only puts out the CO2 that he exhales? That doesn't change how much more greenhouse gas he's putting out than the typical American. If he's in earnest, he could use the Internet he created to make virtual appearances at conferences and celebfests.
That's always the way with lefties -- the masses get stale bread, crowded flats, tiny, underpowered cars, and long lines, hardships and shortages, while the Vanguard of the Revolution deserves dachas in the Crimea, limousines, the best caviar and vodka, every privilege possible.
Posted by: MichaelBates at June 2, 2006 01:13 AM
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