Did Al Gore recently buy a 100 ft house boat?

[IndianaJones]

Is it environmentally friendly?

[Orrex]

1. It runs on whale oil and ground-up manatees

He's a fiend, I tell you.

[IndianaJones]

2. are ground up manatees bad for the environment? nt.

[kirby]

32. Well, they are a renewable resource n/t

;)

[chelsea0011]

10. LOL...good one.

[paparush]

21. Oh, the huge manatee!!!!

[bdf]

88. You are a very, very, very, very, very, very bad person!

:rofl:

[paparush]

91. :-) (wish I could claim it as mine, but I first saw that over on Fark.com)

[bdf]

92. Yeah, but you remembered it and spotted the applicability

That is an agile mind you have.

Ummm, unless you collaborated with Orrex to set this joke up. But even if you did, I forgive you, because it was so fucking funny (albeit very tasteless, but that's part of what makes it funny).

Actually, what impressed me is that you spotted the joke potential yet apparently nobody else here but me even realized that what you posted was a joke.

[AngryAmish]

3. No way - only a pig would buy a 100' house boat

Even if run on solar energy. That would be disgusting. I say never.

[jakem]

60. why is this different that the 10,000 sq foot house?

[SaveOurDemocracy]

64. Why would a pig want a 100' houseboat??

[ourbluenation]

98. Bwahahahahahahaaaaa! For some reason that just cracked me the hell up.

:rofl:

[noamnety]

99. Oh! I know the answer to that!

My daughter knows a pig who got stranded in the Iowa/Indiana floods. They had to row out to feed it because they couldn't figure out how to get it into a canoe to rescue it.

[bdf]

93. It could be 100' long and 1ft wide

Which would make it 100 sq ft. You're just guessing as to the liveable area.

[A HERETIC I AM]

95. How about a 75 footer then?

Call me a pig all you want, but I want me one of these bad boys.

Looks like a fucking blast to me. I've rented 55 footers on Lake Powell and they are a hell of a way to spend a vacation.

I could care less whether Gore runs his on krushed kittens.

Who gives a fuck?


Only a pig?

Sheesh...lighten up.

[Junkdrawer]

4. Yes. He's going to use it to hide John Edward's love child. n/t

[SammyWinstonJack]

33. !

:spray: :evilgrin: :thumbsup:

[Dr.Phool]

78. I thought it was a concession stand.

He's going to sell whale steaks at the next Greenpeace Convention.

[Mabus]

5. If he did, isn't that like Noah building an ark?

:scared:

[IndianaJones]

7. a diesel powered ark with a jet ski. nt.

[Mabus]

17. Nope, solar and biodiesel, The Bio Solar One

http://www.nashvilleistalking.com/node/58791

[NightWatcher]

6. who cares, he's just a dude, not some Messiah

[SammyWinstonJack]

34. .

:spray: :evilgrin:

[Hubert Flottz]

8. I think you have Al mixed up with Duke.

Al walks on water...

[TheCowsCameHome]

9. Yes. Unfortunately, the nuclear reactor necessitates the extra length.

[DangerDave921]

11. Yes he did buy such a boat

But WE are all supposed to save and conserve and drive less. Sorry, but this rubs me the wrong way. If global warming is such a freaking urgent issue, then what the hell is Gore doing buying a 100 foot pleasure boat???

Will he tell us how much oil the thing uses?

[Mabus]

15. It's the Bio-Solar One

Al Gore's Bio-Solar One
Submitted by Christian Grantham on August 5, 2008 - 4:59pm.

The solar panels for Al Gore's new boat (Bio-Solar One) will be installed at Hurricane Marina tomorrow.

It's just a hunch, but I bet you won't find a single one of the following conservatives there taking pictures for their follow-up blog posts.

It's likely you won't hear much about the fact that the boat carries enough fuel for a year's use and is called the Toyota Prius of boats by the company that sold it to Gore. Those facts, it seems, have a distinctly liberal bias.

***

UPDATE 08-06-08 10:42am - Solar panel wiring is underway on Bio-Solar One today, and the solar panels, which are inside the boat, will be mounted tomorrow. News 2's Jerry Barlar is heading down today for a follow up report. You can see his report from yesterday's 6pm newscast here.

UPDATE 1:46pm - Jerry Barlar is at the marina now and will have a followup at 6pm. Gore spokesperson Kalee Kreider tells NIT that once the solar panels are completely installed (by weeks end), they will fully power the boat when it's in use. When the boat is not in use, the solar panels will feed renewable energy back into the grid at the marina.

Bio-Solar One uses about 4 gallons of biodiesel on a typical weekend, depending on use. This is about 20-25% more fuel efficient than other boats this size. Tennessee is a leader in the production of biodiesel fuels.

UPDATE 3:01pm - One of the things you will see in tonight's report is a bank of batteries that store the solar energy. There are 16 of them, each weighing 167 pounds. That's more than a ton of batteries. The power that is not used will be enough to power 4 or 5 other boats at the marina.

http://www.nashvilleistalking.com/node/58791

Gore has been criticized for advocating his environmental policies. Many conservatives have been telling people that our lives will have to drastically change and warning that we'd have to give up a lot of things. Gore is showing that you can be environmentally friendly AND have fun.

[DangerDave921]

18. OK

Yeah, you can be envionmentally friendly and have fun as long as you have the wealth to buy such a toy in the first place and can then afford to have solar panels installed.

But wouldn't it use less energy not to even have the boat in the first place?

[Mabus]

22. Yes

but it is a lifestyle choice. But there is more upside than you are seeing. It also gives work to several entities that they wouldn't have if Gore didn't buy things. For example, there is the company/people who made the boat. It gives work to the people designing, making and installing the solar panels. This means the solar panel place stays in business, pays its employees, pays taxes and remains a viable option (by virtue of staying in business) for others. I assume the boat will be kept at a marina and/or a storage spot. Again, that adds to the economy. It shows people that they can continue many of the activities that they've enjoyed before. Going green doesn't mean we have to radically change our lives, we just need to start learning to be more locally sustainable.

[Tarc]

23. Please don't make such stupid arguments

You would be less of a resource drain on the planet too if you stopped driving, eating, cooking, and defecating. :eyes:

If Al Gore wants to buy a boat, has the resources to do it and to make it far more efficient than an ordinate one, then he has every right to.

[IndianaJones]

25. how is it more efficient? nt.

[snooper2]

41. Did you even read the thread?

:rofl:

[nolabels]

82. It floats on the bottom instead of surface of the water

:spray:

[DangerDave921]

30. The right to do it

Did I say anything about him not having the right to do it??? Of course I didn't. So don't change the goal posts. Yes, he has the right to do it. Yes, he has the right to take private jets. Yes, he has the right to live in a huge house that uses a heck of a lot more energy than I use.

It's just more of the same -- the rich people can live differently from the rest of us. But I don't like being told about how urgent climate change is, while the people who are telling me that live like kings. Sorry, it irks me.

[wtmusic]

36. Agree with you DD.

Somehow Americans' "rights" -- the right to buy whatever the hell they want, to eat whatever they want and as much of it as they want, to cultivate/use as much energy as they want, to fill up landfills -- take up more space than anyone else's.

Let's try and get away from that.

[Tarc]

46. Bullshit

What you're claiming here is that rich people buying expensive things somehow coops their support-the-environment positions. Gore owning a biofuel yacht does not lessen the immediacy and urgency that is needed to deal with a global warming crisis, nor does it lessen Gore's stature as he calls for it. Suggesting that it does simply smacks of ignorant FReeperism.

[wtmusic]

48. Being rich or buying expensive things isn't a problem.

It's when you preach that everyone else needs to reduce their environmental footprint, while you're expanding yours luxuriously.

[Tarc]

73. "Expanding luxuriously" is FReeperism at its finest

Ignoring the reality in favor of sensationalist retardedness.

[wtmusic]

79. Most would consider a 100-ft houseboat (yacht, call it what it is) luxurious

Your admiration for Al has overtaken your senses.

[DangerDave921]

49. Ignorant Freeper?

Because I disagree with you? Because I don't bow down on the alter of Al Gore? My point is not that rich people buying expensive things is wrong. My point is that I don't like hearing how the earth is in peril -- PERIL!! -- and that we have 10 years to fix things, while at the same time these same people travel in private jets and SUV's and live in mansions and yes - buy 100 ft. pleasure boats. Do you not see any hypocrisy in that?

I understand all the carbon offsets and solar panels, etc. But Gore still sends a message that the situation can't be that urgent because he himself uses WAY MORE energy than any of us. But it's OK for him to do that, for some reaon.

[Tarc]

74. All of this is going way over you head I'm afraid

When you catch up, give me a buzz.

[DangerDave921]

76. All of what is going over my head?

Seriously, please educate me on what I'm missing.

[Mabus]

51. The climate crisis is urgent but it doesn't mean he has to live in rowhouse

And if you think about it, you are living like a king. It is all in your perspective. Do you have to haul your own water and boil it (on fire you built) before drinking it? Do you have electricity? An indoor toilet or two? You're living like a king compared to people who lived in your city/area one hundred years ago.

Twenty years ago VCRs were still a pretty pricey item. Ten years ago, not so much. Now you can buy them for a song and a dance. Why? Because rich people thought they were cool. It was a convenience item. As more people wanted them, the price came down and the quality went up. As more people purchased VCRs there was also an increase specific industries (kid videos, straight to video movies, porn, etc.) and businesses grew (video rental stores, stores to convert film to VCR format, etc.) which resulted in increased employment and more than a few franchises.

Today, a bio-solar boat's technology is expensive and extravagant but in the next twenty years it is this type of technology that will be more common place and more affordable. Who knows? In twenty years some of your family members may be able to afford such a boat once we convert to alternative energy and aren't spending so much on heating and cooling our homes or getting to work.

[wtmusic]

55. We all have room to reduce our environmental footprint.

And that's what we should be doing.

Al is not.

[Mabus]

57. We also should show others how to reduce theirs

and Gore is doing just that.

[Hannah Bell]

70. yep, i agree too. they're pretty much hypocrites, & generally

consume more than ordinary folk, no matter how much "green" crap they have.

& carbon offsets? it's to laugh. just a way to financialize pollution.

[SoCalDem]

28. He's earned his money, and why should he NOT buy toys,if he wants?

he should not be required to wear sackcloth & ashes, and walk around apologizing for what he's made of himself.. he has grandchildren who will build lifelong memories of fun times on Grandpa's boat..

He did not buy 3 Hummers:)

[DangerDave921]

31. yeah

but I thought the earth was in peril from too much energy consumption. Peril! Gore sends the subtle message that we really don't have to worry too much about it.

Private jets and SUV's and house boats are all fine if you can afford them. That's the message I get.

[SoCalDem]

37. Solar powered...

and jobs for the people who built & sold it :)

[IndianaJones]

38. the engines aren't solar powered. nt.

[DangerDave921]

45. OK

Then let's build more nuclear reactors and do more offshore drilling! Hey, think about all the jobs that would be created!

[Clear Blue Sky]

67. Agree.

Boats and jets for me but not for thee...

[wtmusic]

40. Ironically his 100ft boat will put far more CO2 into the air than 3 Hummers

but imagine the outcry if he had bought the other instead?

This kind of conspicuous consumption, whether or not it has token solar cells on the roof, sets a really bad example.

[IndianaJones]

42. but it runs on biodiesel. nt

[wtmusic]

43. My bad, didn't know it was clean CO2.

:D

[IndianaJones]

47. I hadn't realized they made bio-diesel that was more efficient than regular diesel myself. nt

[wtmusic]

50. The locals will have to eat more french fries just to run the damn boat nt

[IndianaJones]

56. I'm guessing biodiesel isn't available at the marina...so he'll have to have it trucked in. nt.

[wtmusic]

63. By 100-ft french-fry powered trucks

only the best for the creator of An Inconvenient Truth.

[lumberjack_jeff]

68. Of course it is trucked in. How does fuel get to your gas station? n/t

[IndianaJones]

71. I can afford special delivery in carbon neutral trucks, one tank at a time just for me. nt.

[lumberjack_jeff]

66. Biodiesel has slightly less btu per gallon.

Its benefit is that, being renewable, it is carbon neutral.

... but it still takes slightly more biodiesel to do a given amount of work than the alternative.

[cobalt1999]

77. To be honest, it's not carbon neutral

Not when you add in the cost of production and transportation. It may be more carbon friendly, but bio diesel is hardly neutral.

[lumberjack_jeff]

84. I can grow a sunflower.

I can press out its oil (with a variety of methods) then mix it with lye (derived from wood ash) and wood alcohol and create biodiesel.

There is nothing in the process of creating biodiesel which requires any non-renewable energy sources or ingredients.

Granted, the most economical methods of producing it involve fossil fuels, but there is nothing inherently wrong with bio.

[cobalt1999]

86. No, there is nothing inherently wrong with bio

People just need to be aware of the total equation and, as you said, most commercial producers use fossil fuels in that equation so that needs to be factored in.

Not saying it's a bad choice, it's just not a carbon neutral choice.

[DangerDave921]

87. Good point

Yes, I can make a tiny quantity of it in my backyward using hand tools, but let's be real. This is a big business that requires massive fossil fuel to produce it.

[DangerDave921]

54. what is your point?

Doesn't biodiesel require the growing of crops, which of course requires machinery? Doesn't it require processing, which requires even more machinery and energy expense? Doesn't using crops for fuel cause food prices to escalate?

Biodiesel is not same magic potion that solves everything.

[wtmusic]

62. .

:sarcasm:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

83. Biodiesel is carbon neutral.

The carbon comes from carbon dioxide the plants extract out of the atmosphere.

Duh.

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

53. Well, according to the article upthread,

it is biodiesal and solar, and it carries a years' amount of fuel (which, while it doesn't explicitly say anything, implies that it is fuel efficient). I didn't check the article, but if it is true, he at least went for the fuel efficient 100 ft boat.

[wtmusic]

61. This kind of rationale worries me.

On this thread I see a lot of very intelligent people (and I know they're intelligent -- I've been reading their posts for years) justifying the purchase of a 100-ft yacht by an individual for entertaining his family by claiming it's fuel-efficient.

We all want to give Al the benefit of the doubt. But fuel efficiency, in truth, means nothing except in how it relates to the amount of *reduction in consumption* it achieves.

Consumption is the issue and every one of us should be reducing our environmental footprint. That's why Al's message rings hollow.

[DangerDave921]

75. Very rational post

The idea is to find ways to decrease consumption. Very well put. Al's boat -- while maybe more energy efficient than other boats -- still uses more energy than not having the boat in the first place.

The truth is: Al wanted a big-ass boat. And he bought one. Because he wanted it. His personal desire to own a big boat was more important than the energy that it will use.

[kirby]

39. Therein lies the proiblem with our 'free market'...

The market has failed to include the price of damaging the environment and fighting wars into the cost of the regular boat. The environmentally friendly boat really should be the cheaper item because it uses resources that can either be replaced or used more efficiently.

Anyhow, I think one point of getting environmentalist to work among the masses, is that there are alternatives to doing what we do now, rather than having to entirely go without. If the environmental movement tells everyone they have to give up everything it will fail. If the environmental movement tells everyone they can still do what they like, but need to conserve or make smarter choices, the movement has a much better chance of succeeding.

[treestar]

52. How much energy does a boat use?

It's not a car. There were boats before the industrial age. Sailboats don't use any energy; modern day ones may have motors for emergency use.

But Al is one guy. He's talking about policy. Meanwhile, he lives in the world as it is. He has done enough for this country that he deserves a toy here and there.

[lumberjack_jeff]

65. I used to have a 45' boat.

When we were aboard, our environmental footprint was much smaller than it is living ashore. (solar panels, wind generator, sails for main propulsion).

Rock on, Al.

[dysfunctional press]

80. tell that to the people at the marina, and the company that makes the solar panels...

and the tradesmen who do the installation of the equipment, etc...
they all have families to feed, and that's what the money being spent on the boat translates to.

it's called an "economy". read up on it.

[Mojorabbit]

19. My first thought

is whether he knows something I don't and should I plan on moving from florida in the near future. Is he expecting flooding? LOL

[Marrah_G]

20. omg

I thought the very same thing, except I thought.... "thank god the mountains are right up the road!"

[devilgrrl]

12. BFD

eom

[salvorhardin]

13. Yeah, he did

It's been the latest meme taking the conservative blogosphere by rage. It happens to be biodiesel fueled and also uses solar panels for power. It's called the "Bio-Solar One" so naturally the nattering nitwits are calling it the "BS-1".

[Romulox]

14. Nothing Al Gore ever does will be worse for the environment than pushing NAFTA/MFN China.

I still don't understand how he can be characterized as an "environmentalist" after pushing for "free trade" with China (where they have the worst environmental record on the planet...) :wtf:

[Cooley Hurd]

16. Many houseboats are static (i.e. no engine)...

They merely float.

That said, I HIGHLY doubt President Gore would buy a huge boat with an equally huge engine to tool around Tennesee lakes. My bet is that, if he DID buy a 100ft houseboat, it's of the static kind.

[bushisanidiot]

24. I agree. Most people I know who rent house boats, just go park them in a cove on a lake

and then they use jetski's or small boats to travel around the lake on. Dunno why everyone is getting their panties in a wad over this. I don't see how it's any worse than buying a condo on the shore of the very same lake he's got the house boat floating in.

[cobalt1999]

26. Good for him.

Nothing more relaxing than getting out on the water.

My sailboat has got his houseboat beat for greenness though. :)

[wtmusic]

27. Al is not a great leader on the issue of consumption

It's wonderful that the boat gets some of its energy from solar and the rest from biodiesel. How much CO2 will the biodiesel generate? How much energy is required to build and maintain such a boat for the entertainment of one family? What will happen to the boat when it's worn out?

[cobalt1999]

44. Al does open himself up to charges of hyprocisy.

If everyone lived using the energy he uses, then the world's energy consumption would skyrocket.

I don't think he ever said, "Follow my example", even so, it does blunt his message.

[joshcryer]

90. Um, he has never considered 'lowering consumption' the solution, but rather economic solutions...

...economic solutions that allow for high levels of consumption while at the same time lowering the carbon footprint. He has always always stated that changing your lightbulbs is something you can do, but the real solution is laws (carbon taxes) and economic stimulus. He isn't stupid in understanding that reducing consumption is just a small part of the overall problem, and that the reality is that it's not an actual solution.

[knitter4democracy]

29. You do realize that a lot of people here have boats, right?

I live in Michigan, and we're a weird family for not having a boat. His uses solar and biodesel, for crying out loud. What's wrong with having a boat? It's probably better for the environment than owning a cottage or vacation home.

[IndianaJones]

35. I live close to Lake Michigan in Indiana, and lots of my friends have boats...

they just don't tell me all the time that my car is destroying the environment.

[knitter4democracy]

100. Umm, then what's the problem?

I'm confused.

[wysimdnwyg]

58. To be honest

I like my boat better:

[Egalitariat]

59. Yeah, but he bought enough Carbon Credits to plant 500 trees in Borneo

in order to offset the CO2 needed to manufacture his boat.

[wtmusic]

69. Feh.

Some guy in Borneo just took Al's money and went out and bought a big boat.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

72. yes but i feel like he is doing things to make it environmentally friendly

gores message is very much, you can have fun and not destroy earth. the technology exists, just use it.

[otohara]

81. WHY YES IT IS!!!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=3752051&mesg_id=3752051

[cherokeeprogressive]

85. It's the B.S. One. n/t

[joshcryer]

89. He could have 100000 semis idling in his back yard, if he invests in carbon sequestering...

...then his imprint is still less than yours.

Al Gore is doing it the "capitalist" way. By investing in carbon sequestering he can do whatever the fuck he wants and still be morally superior.

[Lifetimedem]

94. Dont worry

Just like his energy eating home and his plane and his cars, he will just do something the average man can not do....set up your own carbon energy fund and then put your money into it... moving it from one pocket to another..

I hate hypocrisy

[Deja Q]

96. No link? And is his boat larger than Stromberg's boat?

[Deja Q]

97. Why won't anyone really talk about things that float Al's boat?

Apart from Tipper...

:yoiks:

[Dover]

101. I heard he was building an ARK.

Although I'm not sure he will let any neocons onboard. It could sink the boat.