Al Gore’s Tennessee Home Completes Green Renovation
Gore’s Tennessee home, located in the Nashville suburb of Belle Meade, recently completed an exhausting renovation, bringing it entirely up to green standards, even going beyond in most cases.
The renovations included installing a geothermal heating system, adding a rainwater-collection system, and installing solar panels to offset energy consumption. He also replaced all light bulbs in the house with compact fluorescent and diode bulbs, to really drive the point home (we even heard he used these type bulbs on his Xmas tree as well!).
The updates contributed to an 11 percent drop in home energy consumption during the summer (when most Nashville houses report a 25-30% rise).
Additionally, the AP reported:
“Short of tearing it down and staring anew, I don’t know how it could have been rated any higher,” said Kim Shinn of the U.S. Green Building Council, which gave the house its second-highest rating for sustainable design.
In our opinion, it’s an impressive feat, considering the house is more than 80 years old.
Earlier in the year, several groups attempted to attack Gore for excessive energy consumption at the house, but the attacks were unfounded, as he was undergoing a first renovation to the house.
In addition, Gore balances 100 percent of his home electricity usage by investing in renewable energy such as wind and solar power.
Bravo Al … thanks for leading by example !
Kevin said,
December 14, 2007 @ 4:45 pm
Beleive it and be stupid!
Thomas said,
December 15, 2007 @ 3:02 am
Gore talks about protecting the environment and only when he gets caught not doing his part; he spends a couple thousands fixing up his house to be energy -efficient. He lost alot of cool points with true environmentalist. I wonder what he drives?
Paul H. Mack said,
December 15, 2007 @ 10:40 am
Mr. Gore , maybe if we lowered the temperature of the sun by several degrees you could get on to more productive matters such as affordable energy for all the citizens of America . Your ignorance is killing us all . A $ 40.00 dollar a barrel disruption fee in the event is so cruel and GREEDY you refuse to even address it . To respect you is asking a lot . PHM …………………
Layla said,
December 17, 2007 @ 2:12 pm
You probably are too busy to read this, but I am writing an essay and I chose to write it on conservation. My Dad told me that you were a good person to use as someone important in my essay. I want to see an Inconvenient Truth. My cousin loves weather, so for Christmas we are getting Inconvenient Truth, too. I’m glad that you stood up for Global Warming. It makes me scared and want to do whatever I can. My friend and I have an Environment Club. I’ll discuss it with her, too. Thank you.
Sue said,
December 19, 2007 @ 9:32 am
We need Al Gore and he has stepped up to the plate when no one else would or could. I have been concerned about the environment for 40+ years. We should have been doing much more back then. I dried my clothes with a rack 30 years ago, used cloth diapers, drove an energy efficient car, turned off the lights when they were unnecessary, recycled, bought used clothing, etc. And faced snide remarks and snobbishness for my actions. I slowed it down just so I could fit in and be like everyone else. I didn’t like it and it did not feel comfortable. Now I can become an environmentalist again and my reasons are “real”. Thank you Al Gore for leading us into a way of life that no one else would!!!!!
Sue said,
December 19, 2007 @ 9:41 am
One more comment to a few of the above bloggers. What are you doing to help protect our environment? Do you do any of what I mentioned above? If you do great, if not the comments about Al Gore should be curtailed. As I said above he has brought this issue to the forefront so that more of us can feel as though we can try to help the environment without being ridiculed. He’s trying to do his part which is a lot more than most people. Right now even if he is just doing his best to conserve energy that is great. The main thing is he is getting the word out and encouraging all of us to conserve. Logically, millions conserving versus one person, that says to me he is on the right track. Again, thank you Al Gore!!!!!
John Kovach said,
December 20, 2007 @ 11:35 am
With all the problems we have, why doesn’t someone start to regulate the new construction of office buildings and commercial property. In Atlanta, there is over a 70% vacancy rate in commercial buildings, yet new buildings are allowed to be built taking away our natural resources that remain empty for years. Is this simply a tax write-off for people who need to have tax breaks? What cost is it costing the environment to continue to build empty spaces while destroying the natural environment that is required to sustain life??
Mike Sweet said,
December 23, 2007 @ 11:10 am
Al, Please come to Wisconsin. It is 17 degrees with a wind chill of -10. I would offer to pick you up at the airport and we can sit outside and have lunch and we can discuss the global warming issue. You truly are running a close second to Jimmy Carter for the most useless politicians we have.
Colby said,
December 26, 2007 @ 12:57 am
DISCLAIMER PUT ON GORE FILM IN BRITAIN
Even the British penchant for non-criticism can’t stand the
egregious wave of phony global warming propaganda
descending from the USA. Jon Christian Ryter of
NewsWithViews.com reports that “You probably won’t
read this in any US paper, but the Brits aren’t too impressed
with former Vice President Al Gore’s sci fi flick, An
Inconvenient Truth. The British high court ruled Gore’s
Academy Award winning global warming film cannot be
shown in any public school in England without an explicit
disclaimer. The high court ruled that students must be
warned that the film is partisan political advocacy, not a
factual representation of what is actually happening with
the climate of the world. The disclaimer must stipulate that
misleading exaggerations permeate the film. The court said
the film contained far too many factual errors to be shown
in the public school system without a disclaimer.”
Gore, can you say, “bogus?” I am all for caring for the environment–which is why I have a green-conscious house– but lying and making Sci Fi movies is not how to go about it.
read this said,
December 26, 2007 @ 9:34 am
read this you morons http://www.livescience.com/environment/071213-greenland-magma.html
Cathy Evert said,
December 27, 2007 @ 10:35 am
I think it’s amazing that the spokesperson of “Green” in America today has taken this long to take personal responsibility for his carbon “footprint.” President Bush’s Crawford, TX home has used rainfall collection and solar energy for years. Why is this never reported? Bush is a nature lover, not a tree hugger!!
Michael7843853 G-O/F in 08! said,
January 1, 2008 @ 12:45 am
Al add true representation(senatorial districts, popular president) to your quiver and you win by a nuclear landslide. We need you.
Ron Ringler said,
January 2, 2008 @ 1:23 am
As a conservative, a truck driver, a Christian, an avid creation-loving camper I have to laugh at the gullible robots who actually believe this junk science trash. We humans couldn’t make a significant change in the atmosphere if we tried. Global warming is all about lies and the destruction of capital-
ism and population control by Marxist useful idiots.
There you go!
Bruce Cobb said,
January 3, 2008 @ 4:06 pm
Al Gore is nothing but a big, fat, greedy liar. The only thing “green” about him is the millions of dollars he is raking in with his global warming flim-flam. Beware, those who worship him, for you worship a false prophet.
Richard said,
January 6, 2008 @ 5:43 am
The whole premise that climate change is caused by human activity is a joke. Read the following site at the link below. The maths are probably beyond a showman aka Gore but the facts are straight from the climatologists.
http://www.junkscience.com/Greenhouse/index.html
Enjoy!
As to lightbulbs, no harm done but will it change our climate? Doubt it very much.
europa135 said,
January 8, 2008 @ 10:19 am
It just goes to show you, there’s a moron born every day. In the case of this website, we are talking an overpopulation explosion.
Thank you read this. Hopefully some of the these idiots will visit that site and perhaps increase thier IQ a little bit.
Richard-stay away from lightbulbs, they won’t help you gain inteligence. Your’e hopeless. Stick to cartoons, their more your speed.
sean pare said,
January 14, 2008 @ 1:05 am
Please save us from these wealthy liberal hypocrites.
Al Gore lives in a 22,000 square foot home (one of three homes!!!) and flies on private planes. He is part of a group of people who live in huge homes (several for many) and fly on private planes If he really cares, downsize like the rest of us. Take commercial airlines.
How can we take him seriously?
Rich Eggleston said,
January 15, 2008 @ 12:31 pm
People who say climate change is all in our head are akin to people who stand in front of the monkey house at the zoo — or just about anywhere else in the zoo, for that matter — and say evolution is a figment of our imagination.
These folks can insist that climate change is “just a theory” too. And, judging from the comments above, they’re overwhelmingly Republicans. Back when I was a Goldwater Republican, I didn’t think the term was a synonym for closed-minded.
Despite politics, though, the scientific evidence supporting climate change is getting to be as overwhelming as the evidence supporting evolution.
To conclude otherwise is to bury one’s head in the sand, as the governor of Alaska does when she maintains it’s mere speculation that the warming arctic is threatening the polar bear.
colthelight said,
January 20, 2008 @ 7:35 pm
Thank you for the film-’An Inconvenient Truth’.At least you brought to the attention of the public(those who want to listen-at least),the seriousness of our dilemma. And thankyou for showing how we can personally help the enviroment by changing how you live- domestically. We can ALL take a leaf out of your book Al,but can we really afford to do it -financially! Most peoples income will not afford them the luxury to do so.Because it will cost to change to a more energy efficient lifestyle, especially in the time i believe we’ve got- to make these changes. I believe we have to make those changes imminently, today, not tomorrow. Cause tomorrow quite frankly is too late! And it has to be everyone on the planet Earth,not some here ,and some there.
Its been a few years now since you highlighted climate change,how much worse is the climate now compared to then?For when you look around the Worlds weather systems,they are getting more and more erratic- everywhere! We are now experiencing for ourselves, everywhere around the World, those erratic weather systems for ourselves,and not just hearing about it on the news.And the climate is not just about meteorology,geological aspects certainly play their parts,concerning the climate.And mans continuous actions upon the Earth,such as nuclear bomb testing, drilling for oil and natural gasesand deforestation, the effects on the Earth are catastrophic-that will expedite climate change.
The seriousness of our prediciment is that it might be too late,only time will tell.But if man is willing to actually want to save planet Earth, we’ve have to act NOW, not tomorrow!
Tamara Lang said,
January 22, 2008 @ 10:59 am
Al Gore,
Why doesnt your home state recycle???
Kathy Cleve said,
January 29, 2008 @ 11:59 am
Thank you Mr. Gore for the movie An Inconnvient Truth. I unplug anything electrical in my home except my fridge. I have shown a great savings in my Hydro bill. I show my bill to other people to prove the savings. I wish drive-through resturants would close their drive-throughs. Thank you again for being one more person who really cares.
Kathy
Michael (MiJonAL) said,
February 3, 2008 @ 10:27 am
Mr. Gore you have a beautiful home to be a traveling man so often, your missing what it all means. I could not imagine why you would want to live anywhere else, Tennessee is a beautiful state just above Alabama. We have a second home because my step grandfather and grandmother died and we have to sell it, in Walker County. Got any ideas?
Michael (MiJonAL) said,
February 4, 2008 @ 2:41 am
http://www.tv3.co.nz/News/ScienceTechnologyNews/Story/tabid/412/articleID/44040/cat/64/Default.aspx
Prince Charles Hologram Speaks At Energy Summit
Tue, 22 Jan 2008 09:35p.m
A 3D image of Prince Charles is to deliver a speech at an international energy summit in Abu Dhabi to try and reduce carbon
emissions.
The five minute video was recorded about a month ago and will be beamed onto a film set to create a hologram of Charles, who will
then hand the floor over to his brother Prince Andrew who is attending the conference in person.
The hologram will save the 15 tonnes of carbon dioxide that would have been generated by Charles if he and his staff had flown to
Abu-Dhabi.
The summit in the United Arab Emirates will focus on the nation’s attempt to create the world’s first zero-waste and zero-emission
city at Masdar.
http://www.tv3.co.nz/Video/PrinceCharleshologramspeaksatenergysummit/tabid/311/articleID/44040/cat/64/Default.aspx
LKeys said,
February 8, 2008 @ 8:03 pm
Al Gore is the BIGGEST HYPOCRITE I can think of!!!!!! Al Gore’s 20-room, 8-bathroom house consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year. The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kwh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, this house devoured nearly 221,000 kwh, more than 20 times the national average.
August, 2006 alone, the house burned through 22,619 Kwh, guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year!!!!! As a result of this energy consumption, the average monthly electric bill topped $1,359. Also, natural gas bills for this house and guest house averaged $1,080 per month last year. In total, this house had nearly $30,000 in combined electricity and natural gas bills for 2006. (Source: just about anywhere in the news last month online and on talk radio, but barely on TV.)
It’s about time Gore changes something about his house, but I doubt it has truly dropped that much energy consumption. And that still doesn’t cover all his cars and private planes.
Here’s another house for your consideration:
This four-bedroom home was planned so that “every room has a relationship with something in the landscape that’s different from the room next door. Each of the rooms feels like a slightly different place.” The resulting single-story house is a paragon of environmental planning.
The passive solar house is built of honey colored native limestone and positioned to absorb winter sunlight, warming the interior walkways and walls of the 4,000 square foot residence. Geothermal heat pumps circulate water through pipes buried 300 feet deep in the ground. These waters pass through a heat exchange system that keeps the home warm in winter and cool in summer. A 25,000 gallon underground cistern collects rainwater gathered from roof urns; wastewater from sinks, toilets, and showers cascades into underground purifying tanks and is also funneled into the cistern. The water from the cistern is then used to irrigate the landscaping around the four bedroom home, (which) uses indigenous grasses, shrubs, and flowers to complete the exterior treatment of the home. In addition to its minimal environmental impact, the look and layout of the house reflect one of the paramount priorities: relaxation. A spacious10 foot porch wraps completely around the residence and beckons the family outdoors. With few hallways to speak of, family and guests make their way from room to room either directly or by way of the porch. “The house doesn’t hold you in. Where the porch ends there is grass. There is no step-up at all.” This house consumes 25% of the energy of an average American home. (Source: Cowboys and Indians Magazine, Oct. 2002 and ChicagoTribune April 2001.)
This home belongs to George W. Bush in Crawford, TX.
Kudos Mr. President!!!!!!!!!!! Al Gore could learn a lesson–if he wasn’t so hypocritical and pig headed.
And, BTW–all those of you who swallow Gore’s crap had better wake up and do your own study instead of swallowing his (which he himself didn’t write-he’s not a meteorologist). The weather is and HAS ALW
The four-bedroom home was planned so that “every room has a relationship with something in the landscape that’s different from the room next door. Each of the rooms feels like a slightly different place.” The resulting single-story house is a paragon of environmental planning.
The passive-solar house is built of honey-colored native limestone and positioned to absorb winter sunlight, warming the interior walkways and walls of the 4,000-square-foot residence. Geothermal heat pumps circulate water through pipes buried 300 feet deep in the ground. These waters pass through a heat exchange system that keeps the home warm in winter and cool in summer. A 25,000-gallon underground cistern collects rainwater gathered from roof urns; wastewater from sinks, toilets, and showers cascades into underground purifying tanks and is also funneled into the cistern. The water from the cistern is then used to irrigate the landscaping around the four-bedroom home, (which) uses indigenous grasses, shrubs, and flowers to complete the exterior treatment of the home. In addition to its minimal environmental impact, the look and layout of the house reflect one of the paramount priorities: relaxation. A spacious10-foot porch wraps completely around the residence and beckons the family outdoors. With few hallways to speak of, family and guests make their way fromroom to room either directly or by way of the porch. “The house doesn’t hold you in. Where the porch ends there is grass. There is no step-up at all.” This house consumes 25% of the energy of an average American home.(Source: Cowboys and Indians Magazine, Oct. 2002 and ChicagoTribune April 2001.)
This house belongs to George W. Bush in Crawford, TX.
Kudos to the President for having some sense!!!!
And, BTW, for all those of you who have been swallowing Gore’s crap, do your own study, the weather is and HAS ALWAYS BEEN changing since the Great Flood when it was created. The signs are here for another ice age coming soon–not GLOBAL warming!
Gore is not trained in meteorology, and is not an authority on any of that–he’s just vomiting up stuff he’s been fed. Get the point?
andrew zibrowski said,
February 12, 2008 @ 2:35 pm
Wow after looking at this site. I think I just became a little less educated. If you believe in global warming than come live in northern mn. for awhile. We set a record low the other day, global warming my backside. I can tell this much, there isn’t anybody out there that can tell what kind of weather we had 5, 4, 3, or even 2 thousand years ago. Nobody kept records back then, and as far as carbon dating well what can I say but wake-up and smell the coffee. The world is growing, so jump aboard or get out of the way.
europa135 said,
February 19, 2008 @ 4:35 pm
For all the ill informed out there - Gobal warming can trigger an ice age. Next time do your homework before posting idiotic notions. You obviously have no clue about planetery history. The threat is real. Refusal to accept this fact is sad. Everyone needs to get involved and do their part. I pity those of you who wear rose colored glasses and believe life is just one big banana split. News flash - Where will you be when the ice cream melts, the banana’s turn brown, the cherry rots and the nuts are hard as rocks? My point being, if we don’t act now this planet will turn into a big bowl of rotting slush. figurativey speaking, of course.
LKeys - FYI, your hero, Mr. Bush wants to drill for oil in Alaska’s pristine National wildlife refuge. The outcome could be disastrous. Have you forgotten Exxon Valdez? Polar bears are already on the endangered species list. This could push them to the very brink of extintion. Many other animals who call that area home would soon follow. He wants to drill for gas in Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone is one big super volcano. The caldera encompasses the entire park. Talk about extinction with a capital E. Mr. Bush also wants to cut down 2000 year old giant redwood trees. Trees that have been here since Christ walked the earth. He gives tax breaks to the very rich, while the middle class suffer. Unemployment is at an all time low primarely due to Bush’s tax breaks to companies who ship our jobs overseas. Foreclosures are also at an all time low. Mr. Bush has given tax breaks to those who purchase gas guzzling vehicles when it should be the other way around. He is against alternative fuel. In fact, He has relaxed fines for major polluters. They get a slap on the wrist while we feast on fish full of mercury. He is directly responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of people by starting a war with Iraq. Just so he and his friends can profit from oil. Not to mention the deficit he has incurred. He has put a halt to stem cell research, which could save hundreds of thousands of lives.
This is your hero. My suggestion to you is major pyschiatric therapy.
Chris Wilder said,
March 5, 2008 @ 6:10 pm
Al Gore has been exposed. We need to sue him and his big scam. He has earned quite a bit of money off of scare tactics. Shame on you “AL GORE”. I didn’t believe it for one moment.
Chris w.
Flossie Henderson said,
March 30, 2008 @ 8:00 pm
Happy Birthday!!! Just saw you on 60 Minutes, and you were G-R-E-A-T!!!
Hang in there…we’re still counting on you!
Flossie Henderson
St. Louis, Missouri
Cheri said,
April 3, 2008 @ 8:48 am
On Dec 14, 2007 Kevin said” Beleive it and be stupid”
When making a comment, shouldn’t you know how to spell Believe? Who’s the stupid one now?
Dr Doom said,
April 4, 2008 @ 7:11 pm
#
Rich Eggleston said,
”
January 15, 2008 @ 12:31 pm
“People who say climate change is all in our head are akin to people who stand in front of the monkey house at the zoo — or just about anywhere else in the zoo, for that matter — and say evolution is a figment of our imagination.”
We are just looking at you fools in the cage.
“These folks can insist that climate change is “just a theory” too. And, judging from the comments above, they’re overwhelmingly Republicans. Back when I was a Goldwater Republican, I didn’t think the term was a synonym for closed-minded.”
And you left-wingnuts are open minded? HA!!
“Despite politics, though, the scientific evidence supporting climate change is getting to be as overwhelming as the evidence supporting evolution.”
No and No. No overwhelming evidence presented. Just a crock load of misinterpreted crap.
“To conclude otherwise is to bury one’s head in the sand, as the governor of Alaska does when she maintains it’s mere speculation that the warming arctic is threatening the polar bear.
”
Then why is the Polar bear population increasing?