A Tale of Two Houses - Gore vs. Bush
Forwarded email compares the eco-friendliness of Al Gore's Nashville, Tennessee mansion to that of President George W. Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas.
Description: Forwarded email
Circulating since: March 2007
Status: Mostly true (see details below)
Example:
Email contributed by Jesse F., Aug. 20, 2007:
Subject: FW: 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 ave rage American household does in a year. The
average bill for electricity and natural gas runs over $2400. 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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Analysis: Apart from the fact that the photograph of the residence labeled "House #1" does NOT depict Al Gore's Nashville mansion that's actually his farm outside Carthage, Tennessee this widely forwarded message challenging the environmental crusader's green credibility is accurate.
That said, in terms of eco-friendly design the Gore mansion doesn't hold a candle to President Bush's 4,000-square-foot Crawford, Texas ranch, which relies on recycled water and a geothermal heating/cooling system that consumes 1/4 the amount of electricity a traditional system would use. According to the architect of the ranch, David Heymann of the University of Texas School of Architecture, these features were chosen more for their practical and economic advantages than for their environmental benefits, but that doesn't negate the fact that the "Texas White House," as it is called, stands as a model of environmentally-sound construction.
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Sources and further reading:
President Bush's Crawford, Texas Ranch
About.com: Austin, TexasGore Defends His Carbon Credentials
Associated Press, 28 February 2007'Texas White House' a Refuge from Stress
USA Today, 13 April 2001Al Gore Controversies
Wikipedia (visited 20 August 2007)Is Al Gore an Environmental Hypocrite?
"Companion piece" to this forwarded email makes similar charges regarding Al Gore's higher-than-average energy bills vs. his credibility as an environmental crusader
Last updated 08/21/07

