Parallel Universe: Governor Saxton declines to join Western states' global warming effort
Kari Chisholm
In the parallel universe where Ron Saxton actually became governor of Oregon, he certainly wouldn't have led the effort to create a multi-state regional effort to curb greenhouse-gas emissions -- and he'd probably have actively walked away from those efforts.
How do we know? Because he said he was "not running for Governor to deal with global warming."
Elections matter. They really do.
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Feb 28, '07
love the way you think, Kari. great perspective.
2:19 p.m.
Feb 28, '07
Damn, my camera work would have been better if Felix hadn't kept getting in the way.
3:15 p.m.
Feb 28, '07
Dang, will have to check this post at home this evening to view. Videos never get through my firewall here at work from this site.
Feb 28, '07
You people screaming about global warming crack me up. I say 'bring it on.' This is nothing more than extorting money from people who don't know any better. The same people who worship the Kennedy's and the Clinton's. If you actually believe you can change global climate, try bringing oxygen and water to the moon. That's probably a simpler task than changing the climate on earth.
Feb 28, '07
But of course. Surely the progressive feel good restrictions enacted through this bold effort will have some measurable impact besides costing the average consumer more of his/her hard earned dough. Of course there's no evidence these moves will have any affect at all on Earth's ambient temperature, but that's not really the point, is it? It just feels good and makes the true believers pull the D lever come election time.
3:51 p.m.
Feb 28, '07
Great thought -- We should also do a "Ron Saxton budget" based on his campaign positions, see what that looks like for schools, etc.
Feb 28, '07
Exactly Joe. Furthermore, you have charlatans like AlGore scolding everyone for their carbon footprint; all the while his is the size of an elephant's.
I guess having three houses, using 20x more energy than average and burning tons of private jet fuel somehow constitutes ‘environmentalism.’ The joke is, he ‘offsets’ this massive waste by investing in ‘green’ energy and tree planting.
Hell, I’ve planted plenty of trees and shrubs in my yard. And Portland has confiscated copious amounts of my taxes for ‘clean’ toy trains. I’m going to let my truck, lawn mower and leaf blower idle in the driveway for a few hours -- I figure I have a negative carbon footprint.
What it really boils down to is ‘more do as I say, not as I do’ from the leftist elites.
Feb 28, '07
Bet Fat Albert finds those truths about himself particularly inconvenient. I read that Gores mansion in Nashville alone consumed nearly 221,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity last year. That's more than 41x my average annual usage with good 'ol PGE. He must be running a server farm or operating a large grow operation in that joint.
I also find it amusing that our current president, no friend of the the environmental crowd, resides in a 10,000 square foot highly eco-friendly home on his Crawford Texas spread. I'd wager that Gore's carbon footprint dwarfs that of W's.
5:47 p.m.
Feb 28, '07
Gore's place isn't a mansion. It's a farm.
And besides, who gives a damn? If Al Gore is some kind of raging psychopathic hypocrite, does that mean the Earth isn't warming? Or that we shouldn't bother doing anything about it?
Feb 28, '07
A farm? I don't think so. The home in question sits in an affluent Nashville suburb and was purchased by Gore in 2002. You must be thinking of his spread with the zinc mine on it. Yes, your eco-friendly Al was quite content to collect mining royalties up until a few years ago, along with oil profits.
Sure the Earth is warming. What percentage of overall warming is solely attributable to human activity? Can we humans really do much to change that? If so, should we and can we convince the U.S. population and the rest of the world (ie the majority of the planet) to go along with the plan? Putting California emissions on automobiles in western states is purely symbolic and hurts those who can least afford it most. Though I'd agree that our society generates far too much waste, pollution and shamefully squanders precious natural resources, I remain unconvinced that the current global warming scare represents the means to achieve reasonable global environmental goals. Global warming ranks pretty low on my list of rational fears. I can think of much better reasons and methods to clean up our collective act on this planet.
Feb 28, '07
Kari, you can have a "mansion" on a farm; that is exactly what Gore occupies in Tenn.
Feb 28, '07
The Gore's actually have a 10k square-foot home with two home offices. They also drive a hybrid and purchase 100% green energy.
Oh yeah, they also lead a carbon-neutral lifestyle by purchasing carbon offsets.
Damn those leftist hypocrites.
9:54 p.m.
Feb 28, '07
Steve:
That's a great idea.
Oh wait ... Saxton never offered a detailed budget, despite this promise.
Of course, I guess you could argue why provide detail when your answer for everything is 'we could do more with less.'
Feb 28, '07
"..they also lead a carbon-neutral lifestyle by purchasing carbon offsets..."
Carbon neutral? You've got to be kidding. Just producing the materials used in his three mansions emitted more CO2 than most folks will emit in a lifetime. I assume his private jet is a hybrid?
And this carbon offset concept is a complete joke -- investing in 'green' energy and tree planting is supposed to compensate for massive waste and rampant consumption of raw materials?
Like I said, I've done more to reduce CO2 than the Gore's ever have or will. I should be able to drive the biggest, most inefficient SUV in the world for the rest of my life.
Feb 28, '07
Carbon neutral lifestyle by purchasing carbon offsets? HA!
You people really are gullible, aren't you? Will Al Gore allow the US to meet its Kyoto targets by planting trees?
1:24 a.m.
Mar 1, '07
Wow. The flat earth society of fright-wing nitwits is out in force tonight. Burns that Gore won the Oscar, and will porbably win the Nobel as well. Stick your head in the sand and rant about Al Gore some more. Your ludite mornons (i.e. "conservative" nitwits who are nothing like traditional conservatism which actually has valid positions, like conservation of the enviroment) are going the way of the dinosaur.
Some basic points courtesy of grist.org:
• It's nice to see the conservative media taking the message of conservation and energy efficiency seriously. Hopefully they will hold their own leaders and readers to the same high standards.
• The Tennessee Tax Dept. does not consider the "Tennessee Center for Policy Research," which roughly no one had heard of before this, a legitimate group. It's run by a long-time right-wing attack hack, and its only registered address is a P.O. box. Why is everyone in the media taking what it says about Gore's electricity use at face value?
• Gore's electricity company has no record of being contacted about his bills.
• The "average" home electricity use quoted by TCPR is a national average that includes apartments and mobile homes. In Gore's climatic zone, the East South Central (Dept. of Energy PDF), the average is much higher, thanks to hot, humid summers and cold winters. Within that zone, Gore's usage is three (not 20) times average, and his per-square-foot usage is squarely average. (More here.)
• The Gores are not an average family. He's an ex-VP with special security arrangements, and has live-in security staff. He and his wife both work on their many business and charitable undertakings out of their house, so they have space for offices and office staff. All that would be tough to cram in an average size house. Gore buys the maximum allowable green electricity from the program offered by his utility.
• Most of the electricity in TN comes from hydro and nuclear, and so doesn't generate all that much CO2 anyway.
Enjoy the burn.
Mar 1, '07
Oh no, links to Kos & Keith Olbermann! Stop, it burns!
Sorry dude, your pathetic excuses for Big Al's behavior and blatant hypocrisy don't wash. It doesn't matter that he (only quite recently BTW) signed up for feel-good green power sources, he still consumes a ton. The group calling itself "Tennessee Center for Policy Research" certainly isn't the first to point out these inconvenient truths. A lot of this CO2 offsets/trading nonsense smells like something cooked up at Enron. Face it, your boy Gore does not walk his own talk. Your ad hominem attacks aside, it's not just fringe right wingers who have a hard time taking this guy too seriously.
12:13 p.m.
Mar 1, '07
Since when did "the TCPR completely distorted the facts in attempt to smear Gore for political gain" become a "pathetic excuse?" One doesn't need to excuse the behavior described...because it's not accurate.
File this one with the Obama-madrassa story--cheap political crap.
Mar 1, '07
Poor Lestsatdel, he just can't stand the fact that his hero and environmental savior is a full-on hypocrite.
It's difficult to deal with -- when you've put all your faith into one man's crusade, only to discover your leader is a charlatan. David Koresh and Jim Jones had the same effect on people.
Fortunately, here's someone that can help.
12:27 p.m.
Mar 1, '07
...and Chris chimes in with a non-rebutting rebuttal! That was sure helpful!
(Is there a Godwin's Law corollary that applies to the comparison to cult heroes?)
Mar 1, '07
Right TJ, firmly place your hands over your ears, close your eyes tightly and chant the mantra "Al Gore is not a hypocrite" repeatedly. You'll be back in your happy place far removed from reality in no time. It was all just a bad dream. Besides, don't you have some data to analyze over there at the fire bureau?
1:00 p.m.
Mar 1, '07
The only ones who appear to have their sensory organs shut off are you and Chris. You've joined him in ad hominem, failing utterly to address the corrected record on Gore's energy profile. I don't blame you guys; anybody who bought the attack from this guy in his momma's basement looks pretty foolish about now.
1:28 p.m.
Mar 1, '07
OK, people. Enough Al Gore. This post is about Ron Saxton (and arguably, Ted Kulongoski.)
Mar 1, '07
So...Al Gore is not rich elitist who owns multiple large homes and whisks around in a private jet? He is not responsible for consuming gobs of natural resources and burning tons of fossil fuels all the while preaching to the huddled masses how we should make a conscious effort to conserve in our own petty lives? He hasn't been quite happy to accept mining royalties and oil profits up until very recently? Sorry TJ, but it's pretty easy to view Gore as a hypocrite. I don't need some made up right wing group in Tennessee to see that, but so far I find the defenses offered by left wing pawns to this most recent observation/attack weak at best.
Want to reduce consumption, waste and nasty emissions? Live it and subtly encourage others to follow your example. Don't preach at me about my eco habits (on which I'd be happy to go toe to toe anybody here BTW) while you do far more damage with your own excessive lifestyle. Don't give me creative accounting in an attempt to justify your own actions. What part of that don't you understand TJ? Can you address this simple point without insinuating that I believe the Earth is flat, am denying that global warming even exists or attempting to brand me as some right-wing dullard? Having read many of your comments, seems to me that you're one of the last people who should be accusing others of name calling or ad hominem arguments. I'm just sayin' is all.
Mar 1, '07
Oops, sorry- didn't see your comment before posting. Consider me Gored out, Kari.
Mar 1, '07
Actually, I thought Ron's answer was pretty good. I think he'd make a terrible governor and I worked hard to elect Ted Kulongoski, but his response was reasonable. He acknowledged the problem and said he wasn't going to do anything about it.
Mar 1, '07
I have no idea about Al Gore's "energy hypocrisy", but as Kari pointed out, "If Al Gore is some kind of raging psychopathic hypocrite, does that mean the Earth isn't warming? Or that we shouldn't bother doing anything about it?
I'd actually be entirely thrilled if Joe12Pack truly IS doing a better job than Al Gore of minimizing his "CO2 footprint". What I don't get is why Mr. 12Pack feels the need to attack Gore. He's acting kind of like the IndyMedia types who pat themselves on the back for buying their lattes at Stumptown instead of Starbucks. Surely Gore, 12 Pack and I can ALL do better.
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