Don't worry, Bruno- He's really NOT running for President.
Good for W. for having a Geothermal heat system. He actually had it designed to use passive solar and geothermal- I would've guessed that he just bought it that way. That, however, does not make him more of an environmentalist than Al Gore.
Now- As this "impartial" side by side comparison seemed a little skewed to me, I was curious to see what Gore was doing about the fact that he owns an excessively large house (and I do think it's excessively large for a older couple with kids out of the house. Frankly, it's ridiculous to me). But I also believe that Gore is well-meaning and it doing something which will turn out to be very important for this country and for the world, if it's not too late. You and l will probably disagree on that, and I hope I'm wrong.
Anyway- There's ample evidence, if you look for it beyond Snopes, that Gore bought the house in 2002 and sought to perform upgrade the structure to meet LEEDS standands as soon as possible. In this Tennessee suburb (as in any city- something you would know in particular, Bruno) it's not a measure of getting codes, covenents, etc changed overnight. From the associated press:
March 21, 2007 — By Erik Schelzig, Associated Press
BELLE MEADE, Tenn. -- Zoning rules in Al Gore's upscale Tennessee neighborhood have prevented the former vice president and environmental activist from installing solar panels on his roof.
Gore bought his multimillion dollar home in 2002 in Belle Meade, an exclusive city encircled by metropolitan Nashville, and he has embarked on an ambitious renovation. But his contractors ran into a legal barrier last summer when they sought to apply for a permit to install solar panels on the roof.
Terry Franklin, Belle Meade's building officer, said the town only allows power generating equipment to be placed on the ground level. "Solar panels are generators," Franklin said.
"We told them they couldn't do it," he said. "They wanted to try anyway, but we convinced them it was something the board wouldn't allow." ...
Belle Meade, the nation's fifth-richest town according to the 2000 Census, developed the zoning rules because many of its homes have backup electric generators. The area has several tall trees and residents have discouraged Nashville Electric Service crews from pruning those near power lines. Power outages from falling branches have forced several residents to purchase backup generators.
Gore's contractors had argued that silent solar panels should not be equated with noisy gas- or diesel-powered generators, but they ultimately agreed not to press the issue while the city considered changes to the code.
New rules on April 1 will allow homeowners to install solar panels on their roofs. But there's a caveat: "Solar panels may be installed upon the roof of a building so long as they are not visible from the street or from any adjoining property," according to the ordinance.
Gore's roof does have flat areas where the panels could be placed, Franklin said.
The builders at Gore's home plan to make the application for solar panels once the new ordinance goes into effect.
"We just sort of had to wait until they caught up with things," said Steve Rick, Gore's architect. "I didn't think it was worth fighting because we knew the change was coming."
As part of Gore striving to meet renovate it into a Leadership in Energy Design (LEED) Home, he's also working to update windows and ductwork, install a greywater system, and install a....you guessed it... geothermal heating system.
A photo of the recently-installed solar panels on his house:
Anyway- with all the awesome, cool things that Bush has been doing as president, why are you all worried about Al Gore? You should be singing the praises of " The Greatest President of Our Time"...you know, the guy that 'brought morality back to the White House'.
See you Sunday for another type of Gore altogether, Pancho....
Oh yeah- one more thing:
LOOK OUT! HILLARY'S RIGHT BEHIND YOU!!
I love doing that to conservatives!!
Linear Mode
