Peter Schweizer, writing in USA Today, nails Al Gore for Green hypocrisy.

Public records reveal that as Gore lectures Americans on excessive consumption, he and his wife Tipper live in two properties: a 10,000—square—foot, 20—room, eight—bathroom home in Nashville, and a 4,000—square—foot home in Arlington, Va. (He also has a third home in Carthage, Tenn.) For someone rallying the planet to pursue a path of extreme personal sacrifice, Gore requires little from himself.

Then there is the troubling matter of his energy use. In the Washington, D.C., area, utility companies offer wind energy as an alternative to traditional energy. In Nashville, similar programs exist. Utility customers must simply pay a few extra pennies per kilowatt hour, and they can continue living their carbon—neutral lifestyles knowing that they are supporting wind energy. Plenty of businesses and institutions have signed up. Even the Bush administration is using green energy for some federal office buildings, as are thousands of area residents.

But according to public records, there is no evidence that Gore has signed up to use green energy in either of his large residences. When contacted Wednesday, Gore's office confirmed as much but said the Gores were looking into making the switch at both homes. Talk about inconvenient truths.

Ed Lasky   8 10 06

Update: 8 10 06 8:55 AM PDT

Jack Kemp (not the politician) adds:

There is no surprise in pointing out Gore is an ecology hypocrite, but when a liberal newspaper like USA Today does the pointing, it is a sign of friends of is Democratic presidential rivals at work, in my opinion. "Democratic rivals" is spelled H—I—L—L—A—R—Y.

It is nevertheless refreshing to see mention in the mainstream press of Gore's zinc mine pollution and his ownership of Occidental Petroleum stock. Where were they when he was running for President as the Democratic nominee?

The fact that he hasn't paid a few pennies extra per kilowatt hour to support wind powered—electrity is the cherry on the sundae.