Gore Challenges America to Renewable Energy in 10 Years

We're too addicted. We're too short-sighted. And we're too lazy

If we could put a man on the moon, we could do anything. The only obstacle is: Do we want to?

That's hilarious that Al Gore challenges America to do that when he himself uses more electricity just in his house than 25 combined average households.

He needs to do by leading the way, not by sitting back and saying "You should be doing it, when it's profitable, let me know, maybe I'll change."

icerose said:

That's hilarious that Al Gore challenges America to do that when he himself uses more electricity just in his house than 25 combined average households.

He needs to do by leading the way, not by sitting back and saying "You should be doing it, when it's profitable, let me know, maybe I'll change."

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He has.

icerose said:

That's hilarious that Al Gore challenges America to do that when he himself uses more electricity just in his house than 25 combined average households.

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Is Gore using alternative energy (solar, for example) himself or is he on the grid?

According to IG's linkie:

The former vice president has installed solar panels, a rainwater-collection system and geothermal heating. He also replaced all incandescent lights with compact fluorescent or light-emitting diode bulbs -- even on his Christmas tree.

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If I were using panels and off the grid, I could use all the electricity I want. My friend in CA installed his solar panels five years ago. The county is now paying him for his electricity. That's really the way to go. He also got a hybrid long before we all heard about them -- and he's still driving it, getting about 52 mpg.

Gore is still using electricity from the grid and is still using more than the typical person. His improvements cut his usage, but remember...he's living in a mansion.

Why is he living in a mansion? I mean, I have no problem with it, but if he really wanted to practice what he preached he'd be in a duplex, no?

Regardless, Gore is getting rich off of his carbon credit company. He's a tool. And what he has challenged the U.S. to do is unrealistic in the extreme. And he knows it.

robeiae said:

Gore is still using electricity from the grid and is still using more than the typical person. His improvements cut his usage, but remember...he's living in a mansion.

Why is he living in a mansion? I mean, I have no problem with it, but if he really wanted to practice what he preached he'd be in a duplex, no?

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Hey, I got no issue with it. As long as his green improvements cut the amount of energy he's using on the grid, he's practicing what he's preaching, as far as I'm concerned.

Regardless, Gore is getting rich off of his carbon credit company. He's a tool. And what he has challenged the U.S. to do is unrealistic in the extreme. And he knows it.

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They said the same thing about Jack Kennedy when he challenged us that we would be going to the moon by the end of the 60's. Which we did.

We can do it and it's not all that unrealistic. Whenever I go to my parents' house, I watch Planet Green where they have these shows about people who are making their houses greener in terms of energy usage and water conservation. Pretty fascinating stuff.

It's only unrealistic if we tell ourselves so. No one would believe we could go to the moon in less than 9 years' time, but we did (and with computer technology that rivaled... a calculator or digital watch!). It may be tough, but I don't think it's impossible. There are already many people off the grid and solely on alternative energy NOW. The question is, how and when will we get everyone on board? 10 years is quite a long time, and I think it's a good thing to challenge everyone to think differently and do it NOW.

InfinityGoddess said:

Hey, I got no issue with it. As long as his green improvements cut the amount of energy he's using on the grid, he's practicing what he's preaching, as far as I'm concerned.

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Except he hasn't. His usage has acutually gone up.

http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/government/a/al_gore_energy.htm

I can get more sources if you'd like.

His house is 4x larger than the average house in the area, yet he uses 18X. The numbers don't make any sense if he really cares about conserving.

Al Gore's total electric consumption in 2006: 191,000 kilowatt hours.

Average in that area was just over 15,000 kilowatt hours.


Of course it doesn't make him a total hypocrit because he's probably doing the same things he's urging everyone else to do, but damn!

icerose said:

Except he hasn't. His usage has acutually gone up.

http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/government/a/al_gore_energy.htm

I can get more sources if you'd like.

His house is 4x larger than the average house in the area, yet he uses 18X. The numbers don't make any sense if he really cares about conserving.

Al Gore's total electric consumption in 2006: 191,000 kilowatt hours.

Average in that area was just over 15,000 kilowatt hours.


Of course it doesn't make him a total hypocrit because he's probably doing the same things he's urging everyone else to do, but damn!

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You might want to. My CNN article dates October 2007. The article you cited is stating Gore's usage in 2006.

InfinityGoddess said:

They said the same thing about Jack Kennedy when he challenged us that we would be going to the moon by the end of the 60's. Which we did.

We can do it and it's not all that unrealistic. Whenever I go to my parents' house, I watch Planet Green where they have these shows about people who are making their houses greener in terms of energy usage and water conservation. Pretty fascinating stuff.

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maestrowork said:

It's only unrealistic if we tell ourselves so. No one would believe we could go to the moon in less than 9 years' time, but we did (and with computer technology that rivaled... a calculator or digital watch!). It may be tough, but I don't think it's impossible. There are already many people off the grid and solely on alternative energy NOW. The question is, how and when will we get everyone on board? 10 years is quite a long time, and I think it's a good thing to challenge everyone to think differently and do it NOW.

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WE did not go to the Moon. A handful of Astronauts did.

Gore's challenge means a complete restructuring for everyone. Ten years? Come on. How much time do you think it would take to just BUILD the necessary number of solar panels, windmills, and the like for the entire country, to say nothing of installing them and reconfiguring the power grids?

Unrealistic.

And just how, precisely, does Mr. Gore expect the American people to pay for his plan?

I don't see any indication of how all of these solar panels and wind turbines are going to miraculously appear. And, when they do, how is the average American homeowner going to afford it.

Yes. Unrealistic.

robeiae said:

WE did not go to the Moon. A handful of Astronauts did.

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That counts as "we" because "we" sent those astronauts there.

Gore's challenge means a complete restructuring for everyone. Ten years? Come on. How much time do you think it would take to just BUILD the necessary number of solar panels, windmills, and the like for the entire country, to say nothing of installing them and reconfiguring the power grids?

Unrealistic.

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mscelina said:

And just how, precisely, does Mr. Gore expect the American people to pay for his plan?

I don't see any indication of how all of these solar panels and wind turbines are going to miraculously appear. And, when they do, how is the average American homeowner going to afford it.

Yes. Unrealistic.

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Solar power plants and wind farms are currently being built or have been built already. People are adding "green energy" to their houses at their own expense as we speak. It is not unrealistic.

It will cost the average homeowner between $20,000 and $40,000 to install the panels and equipment needed to create electricity in their home.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/06/earlyshow/contributors/dannyseo/main3138054.shtml

Toss that on top of a mortgage,etc. and I contend that just equipping the HOMES of America is unrealistic. I live in a modest home in a modest neighborhood, but it would be about 30 grand to convert it (mostly because I have a thing for turn-of-the-century houses, probably) and if I added that 30 grand to my mortgage it would increase the amount of my loan to an unworkable degree.

So am I to infer that only rich people can get solar energy in their homes?

All my chips are already in. Maybe some of my goddamn investments will start to pay off.

mscelina said:

It will cost the average homeowner between $20,000 and $40,000 to install the panels and equipment needed to create electricity in their home.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/06/earlyshow/contributors/dannyseo/main3138054.shtml

Toss that on top of a mortgage,etc. and I contend that just equipping the HOMES of America is unrealistic. I live in a modest home in a modest neighborhood, but it would be about 30 grand to convert it (mostly because I have a thing for turn-of-the-century houses, probably) and if I added that 30 grand to my mortgage it would increase the amount of my loan to an unworkable degree.

So am I to infer that only rich people can get solar energy in their homes?

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Oh, I don't know. My parents did some major house renovation some years ago, and they aren't that rich.

I think that yes, there needs to be some ability of people being able to attach solar panels to their roofs if they can't afford it from their own pockets and they want it. Maybe government vouchers?

Exactly. Don't get me wrong--I would LOVE it if in ten years we were completely independent from oil and coal and using infinite resources like wind and air to power our country. But the expectation of it happening, when each wind turbine costs a million to build (wind farm size, anyway) and solar conversion out of reach for most people is, to me, unrealistic.

mscelina said:

Exactly. Don't get me wrong--I would LOVE it if in ten years we were completely independent from oil and coal and using infinite resources like wind and air to power our country. But the expectation of it happening, when each wind turbine costs a million to build (wind farm size, anyway) and solar conversion out of reach for most people is, to me, unrealistic.

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Solar conversion doesn't have to rely on people getting panels on their roofs anyways. They can be connected to a "green grid" at no cost to them.

I seriously doubt that, IG. What is going to pay for the 'green grid?' Tax dollars. What then will homeowners have to pay? Connection fees, equipment installation, monthly fees per units used--there's no such thing as 'at no cost to them' except in diabetes commercials with Wilford. The wind farms Gore wants to build, or T. Boone Pickens, for that matter. What pays for them? Pickens bought his own and sells the energy. Gore's proposal lists no funding plans. So who would foot the bill? The government, which means we would pay for it. There is no 'free.' There are only differing layers of 'expensive.'


ETA: From the article cite in the OP:

Gore has previously supported cap-and-trade schemes, which could raise revenue to subsidize renewable projects. But he said Thursday he also likes the idea of cutting the payroll tax and creating a new tax on carbon emissions, which would give a leg up to low-carbon sources.

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InfinityGoddess said:

Oh, I don't know. My parents did some major house renovation some years ago, and they aren't that rich.

I think that yes, there needs to be some ability of people being able to attach solar panels to their roofs if they can't afford it from their own pockets and they want it. Maybe government vouchers?

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Power companies would never allow that, since the law currently forces them to purchase excess electricity.

InfinityGoddess said:

You might want to. My CNN article dates October 2007. The article you cited is stating Gore's usage in 2006.

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As you wish.

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_102512.asp

2007, electricity alone was over 220,000 kilowatts.

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080618/NEWS0201/806180403

Article from 2008, electricity usage went up 10% from 2006.

I don't care that he's using all green technology. That's a heck of a lot of power usage, consuming the same amount as 20 households despite his house only being 4 times that of an average household in that area. That's rediculous. If he wants to help out, he should use green energy and only consume 4x that of the average household. Put his money where his mouth is rather than just point to everyone else and ask them to change.

IG, Ray, sorry, it may be possible, but highly, highly unlikely for several reasons:
1. You can't compare this to putting a man on the moon -- this is so much bigger, we are talking pumpkins and oranges.

2. Gore has no idea (as no one else) what enviromental effect would installing this amount of solar panels have. Nor does he have any idea what enviromental effect would producing and disposing of ten times (and over time a hundred) of batteries.

3. He doesn't just wnt to change home electricity grid (which is a very big project by itself), but he also wants that grid to produce enough electricity for the non-existent electric cars. We are talking huge amounts of energy here (and again a huge infrastructure including batteries).

4. Economical impacts of such a move would be impossible to predict.


Now, here is my prediction:
Withing five years, conventional power plants would start changing to Solid Oxide Fuel Cell power plants (using natural gas). The plants will also need to produce less electricity because big parts of the grid will be distributed (producing electricity and utilizing heat at the site of the user). This will lower the consumption to something like half of today (the SOFC are almost three times more efficient, but general usage will go up).
Cars -- within five-ten years the car industry will shift first to fuel cells or hybrids and then to fully electric. American companies will either join Toyota and Honda in this or will be put out of business (or at least pushed to a niche markets).