Convenient Hypocrisy

This week I've been moving from one office to another at work.  I bought a couple of lamps at Target yesterday as part of my strategy to free myself from the fluorescent assault of the ceiling lights all throughout the building.  I stood in the light bulb aisle looking for the 150 watt incandescent bulbs required for my new lamps.  I noticed the selection of incandescent bulbs is much smaller than it was thirteen years ago when I was a Wal-Mart manager.

Did you know that the incandescent light bulb, one of the most venerable inventions of its era but deemed too inefficient for our own, will be phased off the U.S. market beginning in 2012 under the new energy law just approved by Congress (Source: US News & World Report).  Yep, that's right.  Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid have taken it upon themselves to determine which light bulbs you should use in your house.  Their preference is that you begin using $3.00 bulbs that contain poisonous mercury and have to be disposed of by following hazmat guidelines instead of your safe 50 cent bulbs.  They claim, according to the US News & World Report story cited here that though the bulbs will cost you more, you will save more on your electric bill because of improved efficiency.  But remember, they also want to pass cap & trade legislation that will raise your electric bills much more than you'll ever save by using different light bulbs.

Of course, this law, and the many more on the way, are for the good of the planet.  They believe that you and I should see it as our national and global civic duty to do our part in protecting our "planet in peril."  And leading the way is the hero of the environmental lobby, the one, the only, Al Gore.  Read and be inspired by his brilliant leadership reported in this article from the Tennessee Center for Policy Research:

"In the year since Al Gore took steps to make his home more energy-efficient, the former Vice President’s home energy use surged more than 10%, according to the Tennessee Center for Policy Research.

“A man’s commitment to his beliefs is best measured by what he does behind the closed doors of his own home,” said Drew Johnson, President of the Tennessee Center for Policy Research. “Al Gore is a hypocrite and a fraud when it comes to his commitment to the environment, judging by his home energy consumption.”

In the past year, Gore’s home burned through 213,210 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, enough to power 232 average American households for a month.

In February 2007, An Inconvenient Truth, a film based on a climate change speech developed by Gore, won an Academy Award for best documentary feature. The next day, the Tennessee Center for Policy Research uncovered that Gore’s Nashville home guzzled 20 times more electricity than the average American household.

After the Tennessee Center for Policy Research exposed Gore’s massive home energy use, the former Vice President scurried to make his home more energy-efficient. Despite adding solar panels, installing a geothermal system, replacing existing light bulbs with more efficient models, and overhauling the home’s windows and ductwork, Gore now consumes more electricity than before the “green” overhaul.

Since taking steps to make his home more environmentally-friendly last June, Gore devours an average of 17,768 kWh per month –1,638 kWh more energy per month than before the renovations – at a cost of $16,533. By comparison, the average American household consumes 11,040 kWh in an entire year, according to the Energy Information Administration."

Here's the lesson boys and girls:  Socialist politicians are keen and quick on passing laws to take away your freedom to choose what's best for you and your family.  But their approach is reminiscent of that old parental saying, "Do as I say, not as I do."  It's up to you and me to remind these wannabe dictators that they work for us and their job is to represent our voice, not force their personal ideology and agenda upon us.  If they can't get that right, it's time for them to pursue other employment.  And it is you and I who have the authority to issue the pink slips.  Man up (or woman up) citizen!

Comments

[Ann]

They don't even have a good plan for what we're supposed to do with these CFC light bulbs when they break. Nobody has thought this through. Quick! Everyone panic!!!

This whole thing tells me that Al Gore cannot possibly believe what he preaches, or he would do something about it. Do you think he really believes that we're heading for a global crisis?

Ted Turner predicts "mass cannibalism" by the year 2040 as a response to global warming. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=60581

I'm absolutely convinced that we need independent, strong thinkers in our government and positions of power. The people we've got now (on both sides) are just into fear mongering.

I just have a quick question: What do Al Gore and Ted Turner know about science?

[vulcanhammer]

Al Bore and his environmental minions (The Democrats, greens, progressives)have started to impose their vision of collective-green utopia upon us. They will use big, strong governments in the name of saving the planet. Oh don't worry, it's only going to get more interesting in the months and years to come.

[Bill Huffhine]

Hey Ann,

Thanks for the link used for this post. You're right, it's past time for America to wake up and reclaim our country from these bozos.

Hey Vulcan,

Good to see ya. I have no doubt that the future months and years will not only be interesting to watch, but decisive in the future of our Republic. We can't sit back and watch it happen.

[Ann]

"florescent assault" -- I love it!

[Eric Sanders]

The people of this country have the power to remind the government that they work for us, not control us. The problem is greed. If I can create some mythical problem (green, brown, purple, or otherwise), and push it in people's faces enough, soon I will have unlimited resources to solve the problem that never existed in the first place. Change will not be easy. It will require sacrifice. But as long as people can get their little piece of the pie from the government, they are content. They never seem to notice that they are eating that pie out of the garbage can.

[Bill Huffhine]

Hey Eric,

Thanks for the comment. You're spot on, my friend. I checked out your blog. Very good!

Stop by anytime.