Al Gore Gets Approval To Install Solar Panels On His Tennessee Home

Well gee, what will all the detractors think of next to attack him with? He is walking the walk and talking the talk. More that can be said for those who have no time to do anything but obsess over his every move instead of actually doing something about this crisis now, and that seems to be happening on both ends of the political spectrum.

And hmm, does putting solar panels on your house also mean you are running for President? Oh wait, I think if you are going on a diet and not growing a beard, that means you are running... or wait... is it if you wear blue suits with red ties on Tuesdays? ... oh wait, no, it's if you shave and shower every day... oh yes, and the secret handshake and eye winks are a definite sign as well. Oh, and saying the political process is toxic is just a big tease too because that is just a lie doncha know.

I actually think putting solar panels on your house defintely means you are running for President... after all, it couldn't mean you simply care about the environment... not if you are Al Gore. If you are Al Gore you have to live up to a double standard set by those on both ends of the political spectrum who think you have a duty to do it their way and to account to them for how you live your life and there is always a politically clandestine motive to everything you do because they just can't let go.

On one end they can't let go of their hate because well, that is just who they are and on the other end they just can't seem to support this man based on who he is as opposed to what they want him to be because who he is is just not good enough for them. This is who he is: A visionary statesman and environmental advocate par excellence who has done and is doing more to further this cause than anyone is doing right now, and how he lives his life reflects that. But of course that won't still be enough... not if you are Al Gore. Hopefully this will appease them all for a while.
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Al Gore Gets Approval To Install Solar Panels at His Tennessee Home

NASHVILLE -- Former Vice President Al Gore's upscale neighborhood granted the environmental activist approval Tuesday to install 33 solar panels on the roof of his mansion. Belle Meade had blocked his application until new rules were approved unanimously late Tuesday, said Gore spokesman Chris Song.

The city located within metropolitan Nashville said the panels must be placed in areas where they can't be seen by neighbors. Gore, who starred in the documentary film "An Inconvenient Truth" about global warming, already buys enough energy from renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and methane gas to balance 100 percent of his electricity costs.

He is also upgrading the furnace, windows, and light switches, as well as installing new floor radiant heat and solar vents, to improve the home's energy standards, said Kalee Kreider, a Gore spokeswoman. The home bought by Gore in 2002 is more than 70 years old and illustrates the challenges of renovating an older home to conserve more energy, Kreider said. "It's obviously easier to build a green home from the get-go," she said. "When you purchase an older home, these retrofits take lot longer." Source: Associated Press

next to attack him with...he'd STILL win if he ran.

This is about people joining together now to help him in this cause. Of course, that appears to be lost on many, especially those in our media and some on both ends of the political spectrum who support their unsubstantiated speculation and innuendos to suit their own agendas.

Because solar panels are just so offensive, aren't they?

MUCH more than oil derricks and offshore oil platforms.

Or coal-burning electric plants.

Glad he got the approval.

I guess some creepy control-freak in the 1980s got fixated on the possibility that s/he might look out of the window and catch sight of a neighbor's "unmentionables" dangling on the line!

I suspect that the town council is waiting for that person to move or pass away, before they change it.

There are so damned many "ordinances" and "bylaws" about what you can and can't do on your own property.

In nearby Kanata, there are bylaws about clotheslines, antennas and even PAINT COLORS on your house.

This is madness. I'm not like everyone else, why should I have to "conform" to avoid possibly offending someone?

I think the "clothesline" thing is about to be challenged because of people (like us) who refuse to us an energy-wasting clothes dryer.

I love that man.
I wish he would run. I would be proud to work to get him elected.

Just the way he is. Free to choose his own path in life.

There are probably 1000s, maybe millions of local zoning laws and association laws that prevent people from putting up windmills and solar panels.

Congress should make laws freeing people to put up solar panels and windmills if they choose too and if they are not huge and obvious eye sours (like a 300ft windmill in the front yard).

Priorities, man!

:eyes:

Aside from the bleedin' obvious, that homeowners should be able to install solar panels and other functional energy generators, why not mandate sidewalk and bike lane construction for any new residential development?

I rent so I can't have solar power in my state unless my landlord decides to put solar panels on the roof. I am stuck with what I have because I rent? I don't find that to be constructive to progress.

long-term, I can't see the Feds effectively offering tax breaks to renters to make those improvements. There just isn't enough of an incentive to make it cost effective.

Put another way--the feds need to make your landlord want to put in the solar panels.

And they need to make the developers install sidewalks and purchase right-of-ways to enable pedestrian and bike traffic, not just car/bus/train... but that's a whole 'nother rant.

We'll see what happens.

Maybe you can make the numbers work to make your case. It won't be easy but it's worth a shot.

But that would mean that Congress would have to extricate themselves out of the anal orifices of the energy interests that fill their campaign coffers.

next to their name.

Between local zoning laws, homeowner's associations, and (sometimes) the local historical society it's a wonder homeowners can get things done.

BTW, here in our city they have an ordinance that you can't have Christmas lights up something like 30 days past Christmas or you'll get fined.

But then our homeowner's association doesn't allow them on the outside of the building anyway. :)

Fire hazard? Eyesore?

They're trying to preserve their antebellum charm or somesuch.

I had some friends who were redoing a house there with an addition and it was ludicrous what they had to go through.

Yes, it's amazing but it's true: Bush's ranch in Crawford is way, way more green than Gore's house.



Why is Bush living this way yet touting different principles publicly? What will he do with his nearly 100,000 acres recently purchased in Paraguay?

What does he know that he's not telling us?

There are problems with water in Texas. Probably ones he caused as Governor. I will have to look into that. And considering that the land in Paraquay is near the Guarini Acquifer, I would say he knows that water is going to be the next source of wars so he wants to get a hold of as much as possible.

Bush will sell the Pig Farm the minute he leaves the White House. His "people" might go to Paraguay, but he'll move to a gated community in the Metroplex.

I'm expecting that his world will shrink abruptly as of Jan 20, 2009.

If you know what I mean. And yes, he would get a good resale value for it now based on those changes, especially in Texas.

He also installed a heat pump in the VP residence (not that Cheney appreciates the energy savings). As far as I know, he's been tinkering up at the farm, too. Meanwhile, Bush knows so little about the technology that he wasn't even aware that the VP's place had already been upgraded with the same item. And he totally botched the explanation when some reporters asked him how it worked! My theory is that Laura did most of the planning, in collaboration with the architect. (Bush, when asked for his input, mumbled something about wanting a big bed and a showerhead with lots of power.)

http://www.dubyaspeak.com/energy.phtml
(see the home heating quote from Crawford, 2001)



As pointed out in the original post, it IS a lot more expensive to retrofit houses, than to custom-build them to LEED standards. However, we can't make a dent in this problem unless we come to grips with it, because like it or not, most of our housing stock and infrastructure is pre-1990s -- it's just not feasible to bulldoze everything and start from scratch. I think it's great that Gore is taking this on, to show that it's affordable and won't damage property values. (Believe it or not, that last thing gets brought up quite a bit whenever people try to make pro-environment changes to their neighbourhoods -- not watering their lawns, asking for more public transit, etc. -- folks just come out of the woodwork at council meetings to whine about how someone putting up solar panels or a clothesline, not having a lawn shaved down to 0.75", keeping a chicken in the backyard to eat the pests instead of breaking out the Roundup, etc.)

Having a "green" building is one thing, but unless one is also encouraging others to do the same thing, it's just a status symbol. How about a nice tax break for everyone who gets similar features installed, Dubya?

Good thing they recognized that solar panels is a no-brainer...and voted to allow unanimously.

Perhaps he thought that this would make not only his local community more amenable, but also encourage other municipalities that are thinking about it? The Swift Boaters would be bound to spin anything else as "look at Al throwing his weight around, ha ha!", if he were perceived to have bent the rules using political clout.

Activists trying to get the rules changed in other jurisdictions can now say, "look, they had a unanimous vote!". (In fact, I think I will pass this news item along to the local sustainability group in my town, to encourage them in their efforts.)

$475 a pop. Don't even ask what Tipper pays.

He's a private citizen. I don't care who cuts his hair, and that isn't relevant to this post.

We're doomed.