A Tale of Two Houses - Bush vs. Gore - Something smells here.

[garthranzz]

I received the following from an acquaintance, one of the few people left in America who doesn't recognize Bush as a criminal usurper. I couldn't copy and paste the pictures from the original email, for some reason, but that doesn't matter. It's the kind of "gotcha" that makes me immediately suspicious, but I can't place the error. I'm hoping the good folk at DU can help.

(One error, of course, is that the "green" house probably isn't the only place Bush lives.)


It's meant to show that Bush is a good guy, a man of principles, etc., and that Gore is a hypocrite.


Where's the refutation?

Thanks in advance.

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A Tale of Two Houses



House #1

A 20 room mansion ( not including 8 bathrooms ) heated by
natural gas. Add on a pool ( and a pool house) and a separate guest house, all heated by gas. In one month this residence consumes more energy than the average American household does in a year. The average bill for electricity and natural gas runs over $2400 a month. In natural gas alone, this property consumes more than 20 times the national average for an American home. This house is not situated in a Northern or Midwestern 'snow belt' area. It's in the South.

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House #2

Designed by an architecture professor at a leading national university. This house incorporates every 'green' feature current home construction can provide. The house is 4,000 square feet ( 4 bedrooms ) and is nestled on a high prairie in the American southwest. A central closet in the house holds geothermal heat-pumps drawing ground water through pipes sunk 300 feet into the ground.

The water (usually 67 degrees F.) heats the house in the winter and cools it in the summer. The system uses no fossil fuels such as oil or natural gas and it consumes one-quarter electricity required for a conventional heating/cooling system. Rainwater from the roof is collected and funneled into a 25,000 gallon underground cistern. Wastewater from showers, sinks and toilets goes into underground purifying tanks and then into the cistern. The collected water then irrigates the land surrounding the house. Surrounding flowers and shrubs native to the area enable the property to blend into the surrounding rural landscape.

HOUSE #1 is outside of Nashville, Tennessee; it is the abode of
the 'environmentalist ' Al Gore.

HOUSE #2 is on a ranch near Crawford, Texas; it is the residence of
the President of the United States, George W. Bush.

An 'inconvenient truth.'

I sure hope this gets passed to everyone! And, yes .. I DID check Snopes prior to forwarding it.

You can verify it at: http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/house.asp

[LynnTheDem]

1. That oldie is still making the rounds, huh.

Rightwingnuts; truly the stupidest MFers on the fucking planet.

Gore's home is a listed house. He did recently get govt permission to green his home, and hsa done so.

But of course rightwingnuts think stupid shit like listed buildings and laws are...stupid shit. And should be ignored.

Or at least, when rightwingnuts do it.


Some info:

This year Gore was finally given the green light by city planners to install solar panels and other green additions at his mansion. Previously, town zoning laws did not permit residents of the upscale neighborhood to install solar energy technology because they were considered generators, and therefore, unsightly. Gore had been quietly protesting these laws for some years, but when an audit of his energy use surfaced in February he was raked over the coals, even though plans were underway to make his home more efficient and eco-friendly. Now he’s able to make green renovations in addition to the solar panels; he is also upgrading the furnace, windows, and light switches, as well as installing new floor radiant heat and solar vents, to improve the home’s energy standards.

Gore also pays a premium in order to get some of their electricity from Green sources. He purchases enough energy from renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and methane gas to balance 100 percent of his electricity use.

[dkofos]

2. Yes, it is an inconvenient truth.

[garthranzz]

4. What do you mean?

I don't understand your comment.

[Beausoleil]

3. Here is my standard answer

What this doesn't tell you is that house #1 is a full-time residence that also houses an ongoing business that has expenses and provides employees with jobs for which they pay income taxes. So it's not just a "house".

"House" #2 is hardly ever occupied, it's just a showplace. Nobody lives there. There is no business there. Regular people don't do anything there, no private sector jobs are provided there. Whatever living expenses are generated by this "house", you are paying for it, even when empty.

Apples and oranges.

[Muttocracy]

5. oh god, this again

Beyond the facts others noted above, remember that building a new house uses a lot of resources and energy as opposed to buying an older house. Are those taken into account?

Note the language difference.

"Designed by an architecture professor at a leading national university." Who designed Gore's? What does that have to do with energy?

"nestled on a high prairie in the American southwest" Why does Bush's faux farm get to be nestled on the prairie? Why can't Gore's have a literary placement in the green southeast?

For all the emphasis on water, isn't water quite a different resource in TN vs. TX? I'm pretty sure the Gores don't need a ton of irrigation for their property - it rains more in TN doesn't it?

Note that they count rooms for Gore, only bedrooms for Bush. The square foot comparison is 10,000 vs 4000 in the Snopes article, not 20 vs. 4.

etc. etc.

[annabanana]

6. I understand the Crawford studio is on the market...

It was only ever a set piece anyway. Pure stagecraft.