Did some R&R in Italy while in the Navy, last time was 2001. Solar heating for water is quite common there. U.S. is way behind on that point. At least from my perspective observation in central Texas of homes here.
Photovoltaics in reference to sourcing the sun is a good idea. However, initially, its a very expensive investment. If you live in an area that's historically subject to large hail damage, not a good idea.
You should not consider using windmills for a power source unless you live an area that has consistent wind availability. I could see installing a windmill to supplement photovoltaic, as it will most likely be somewhat windy on a cloudy day in most cases.
Some municipalities offer a credit in some form to decrease the initial cost of solar cells and equipment for electrical use.
Yes, they started installing it a year ago, right after he was exposed in the media as a big hypocrite. Prior to that, his energy bill was $30K a year. That;s right $30K/ a year. He had the time to make the movie Inconvenient Truth, where he asked "Are you ready to change the way you live?", but apparently no interest himself that he was using
15 times the energy of a typical home. BTW, $6K of that was for the pool. Does every office building typically have one of those too?
I'd like to see a credible reference for his house being mostly office space. Does that meet the zoning? When he got hammered early last year, I never heard any such defense offered.
Add to that the guy regularly flies around by private jet, and yes, you have one big hypocrite!
I didn't see Trader4's idiotic post because I filter all googlegroup tyros and spammers. I won't see his reply to this post unless it is quoted in a reply to him by someone who uses a real usenet server.
Gore installed the solar panels over a year ago, and before that, as you said, he had a long battle with his community over being allowed to install them. It was the local right-wing loonies like Trader4 and George that prevented him from doing it a long time ago. They also don't seem to understand that his "house" is more a business location than a residence. That's why it is so big and uses more energy than trader4's doublewide.
That doesn't sound right. Any community that has zoning regulations that require permitting for solar panels would certainly have restrictions on running a business from a home.
I think Gore is growing Marijuana in hydroponic ponds in his "home" and he wants to go off grid so the authorities don't get suspicious over his high energy requirements.
A PBS rerun of E^2 this week was about wind. Comment made was that the US had its chance several decades back when energy was tight. Interest waned and Denmark and Germany became leaders in the technology. Now energy is up again and everyone has shifted into panic mode instead of into how-to-innovate-and-go-forward mode.
I'm still waiting for the reference to support the claims that:
1 - Al Gore's office TN home of 10,000 square feet is mostly office space. I can just see that. The guy builds a big house and instead of it being for him to live in, it's an office park for worker bees. I don't buy it.
2 - That Al Gore had wanted to use solar for years, but was prevented from doing it by neighbors, the community, etc. All the evidence I have seen doesn't mention any interest, permit applications, etc. He only started to get interested in doing something when he was exposed by the medai, like the below USA piece which does a pretty good job. Note that he has THREE homes, and nowhere is there any mention of "office space."
I did find plenty to support that he is an energy hog and hypocrite thought:
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"Public records reveal that as Gore lectures Americans on excessive consumption, he and his wife Tipper live in two properties: a 10,000- square-foot, 20-room, eight-bathroom home in Nashville, and a 4,000- square-foot home in Arlington, Va. (He also has a third home in Carthage, Tenn.) For someone rallying the planet to pursue a path of extreme personal sacrifice, Gore requires little from himself.
Then there is the troubling matter of his energy use. In the Washington, D.C., area, utility companies offer wind energy as an alternative to traditional energy. In Nashville, similar programs exist. Utility customers must simply pay a few extra pennies per kilowatt hour, and they can continue living their carbon-neutral lifestyles knowing that they are supporting wind energy. Plenty of businesses and institutions have signed up. Even the Bush administration is using green energy for some federal office buildings, as are thousands of area residents.
But according to public records, there is no evidence that Gore has signed up to use green energy in either of his large residences. When contacted Wednesday, Gore's office confirmed as much but said the Gores were looking into making the switch at both homes. Talk about inconvenient truths. "
The thing about {still chuckling} that internet comment is that I more or less understand what I *think* he meant by it, and it's more or less forgiveable. But it is without a doubt one of those comments that sticks to you like JB weld.
Jeepers. I should have crossposted this to alt.home.repair.crankybastards :) Everything I post in these parts seems steeped in gasoline and ignites from static!
If you truly want to be green, you need to consider the carbon footprint of manufacturing the photovoltaics. It will take at least several years to just break even, but only if you live in a place with a lot of sun.
so what if he is a hypocrite ? That is his problem. The fact that he is correct about global warming is not changed by his personal behavior. It is still a good idea to cut back on energy use and do all the things Al Gore recommends regardless of what he does personaly. When ever one of you right wing nuts tries to talk the first thing you do is change the subject to discredit someone rather than talking about the facts of the matter. Learn some new tactics.
At one point in my career I installed photo voltaic systems for a subsidiary of Westinghouse. I'll help with information if I can. If I don't know I'll tell you that.
so what if he is a hypocrite ? That is his problem. The fact that he is correct about global warming is not changed by his personal behavior. It is still a good idea to cut back on energy use and do all the things Al Gore recommends regardless of what he does personaly. When ever one of you right wing nuts tries to talk the first thing you do is change the subject to discredit someone rather than talking about the facts of the matter. Learn some new tactics.
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