Tag Archives: gore

The Trouble With CERES, BICEP, and the Way Forward

The Trouble with CERES, BICEP, and the Way Forward (audio)

Back in the fall of 1989, CERES announced the creation of the Ceres Principles, a ten-point code of corporate environmental conduct to be publicly endorsed by companies as an environmental mission statement or ethic. Today, the Waxman/Markey Bill brings together energy efficiency, renewable energy, and cutting greenhouse gases. … good for business and consumers. Makes it easier to move toward a clean energy economy.

BUT the CERES principles fall short in some very important ways.

  1. Adherence to the CERES Principles is voluntary; not mandatory.
  2. The “CERES Principles” are just that – principles. They are not goals.
  3. The government must fully support them, and back them, and push them, and enforce them.
  4. While there are milestones in the 20 year history the Ceres Principles, there are no dead-lines for the future.

And we need to act now. As Gore noted, “We’re borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the planet. …that’s got to change. … Enough wind blows through the Midwest corridor every day to meet 100 percent of US electricity demand. … Enough solar energy falls on the surface of the earth every 40 minutes to meet 100 percent of the entire world’s energy needs for a full year.

Here are the details. Continue reading →

Gore proposes 10-year plan to produce entire U.S. energy consumption via renewables

Via Ron Fournier of the Associated Press, Gore sets ‘moon shot’ goal on climate change, dated today (16 July 2008). An excerpt:

Just as John F. Kennedy set his sights on the moon, Al Gore is challenging the nation to produce every kilowatt of electricity through wind, sun and other Earth-friendly energy sources within 10 years, an audacious goal he hopes the next president will embrace.

The Nobel Prize-winning former vice president said fellow Democrat Barack Obama and Republican rival John McCain are “way ahead” of most politicians in the fight against global climate change.

[We haven’t examined either candidates’ positions on these issues carefully – but we take Senator Gore’s implicit  point – that the necessity will be present whoever wins the election – Eds.]

–  snip –

The Alliance for Climate Protection, a bipartisan group that he chairs, estimates the cost of transforming the nation to so-called clean electricity sources at $1.5 trillion to $3 trillion over 30 years in public and private money. But he says it would cost about as much to build ozone-killing coal plants to satisfy current demand.

“This is an investment that will pay itself back many times over,” Gore said. “It’s an expensive investment but not compared to the rising cost of continuing to invest in fossil fuels.”

Excerpted from Gore sets ‘moon shot’ goal on climate change. By Ron Fournier of The Associated Press.

We understand – or believe – that the AP has been concerned about excessive use of their reports. We believe the above excerpt complies with the “fair use” doctrine. Also – Fournier’s lead – the comparison to the space program – is particulary apt, and should be useful in public discussion.

Gore’s house: green renovations underway

Al Gore’s renovations – delayed, apparently, because of zoning restrictions – are well  underway. JekyllnHyde on Gore’s improvements, initially quoting the Associated Press:

In an Associated Press interview, Gore responded to the phony attacks levelled against him a few months ago by a conservative think tank in Tennessee for consuming too much energy

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Al Gore, the environmental activist stung by criticism over his house’s energy efficiency, said Friday that renovations are nearly complete to make it a model “green” home.”This plan has been in the works for a long time,” the former vice president said in an interview with The Associated Press. “The only thing that has changed is that we’re more public about it because of the misleading attack by a global-warming denier group.”

Gore’s renovation project, which he said has been in the works for months, seeks to meet the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Now, I’m no environmental guru (as I’m sure there are people here on Truth & Progress with far greater knowledge on the subject than me) but it seems to me that Gore is a man who practices what he preaches.  After his neighborhood council passed new zoning laws – ones that previously prohibited the installation of solar panels – Gore said that he’d be able to take the following additional steps

* install a geothermal system that will, among other things, drastically reduce the cost of heating his pool.
* upgrade windows and ductwork.
* install more energy-efficient light bulbs.
* create a rainwater collection system for irrigation and water management.

Al Gore’s “Green” Home Almost Ready. Is He?