Al Gore Single Handedly Ends Global Warming

But all Al Gore has ever asked of people is to calculate their carbon footprint, taken reasonable steps to reduce it, and then purchase carbon credits to get to carbon neutral. Which is exactly what he's doing. How does that make him a hypocrite?

Al Gore uses Green Power to power his home/office and drives a hybrid. You could definitely argue that his house is needlessly large, but it does also serve as an office, and he's not doing anything that he tells other people not to do. Which, once again, doesn't make him a hypocrite.

Also, Al Gore will never be able to have a carbon footprint that is average or below average without offsets. It isn't possible, because of how much he has to travel. Now, he does fly commercially when he can, which is an important distinction. But given how much he travels, he will always have to purchase carbon offsets.

Anyway, I don't really care so much about people live their personal lives. You drive an SUV and travel a lot, that's cool, I won't begrudge you. Some people need SUVs and trucks, and certainly there are times when I call a friend or family member because I need to use their truck. I understand that it isn't economically feasible for someone who has a car to sell it and buy a Prius or a Civic or whatever. That's cool. My footprint is smaller than average if only because I'm a college student in an apartment with my gf that lives near campus and I don't have to commute. I've got flourescent lighting and all, but only because it saves me money in the long run.

So, you know, I like to think I'm kinda neutral on this, I think the cries of hypocrisy come from a misunderstanding of what Al Gore asks of people, and that there are far more egregious example out there. I don't get too worked up about those guys either, because it's not really my business if a preacher does meth and has sex with guys or whatever.

I dunno, I guess what I'm saying is that Al Gore has a far more reasonable and simple message than a lot of people give him credit for, and living in a big house that consumes a lot of energy isn't really a violation of his message since he takes reasonable steps to reduce his carbon footprint.