Al Gore's new double-decker, 100-foot houseboat, known as Bio-Solar One. (Note the Jet-Ski on back.)
The Nobel Peace Prize winner has a new houseboat. It's powered by solar panels on the roof and biodiesel in the tank. (By the way, is that biodiesel from a waste product like grease, or from virgin vegetable oil?) I respect all that Brother Al has done for the environment. But his lifestyle is completely unsustainable for the average person, even with solar panels on his houseboat and 10,000 square-foot mansion in Nashville. I know the word "sacrifice" is an ugly one in today's language, but some alerations to our Super Sized Lifestyles have to be made for the sake of our kids and grandkids. And if our leaders don't set the example, how are we expected to follow? (One conservative commentator recently said, "I'll start acting like there's a climate crisis when Al Gore does." Sadly, he's right.) This is a small point I try to drive home (hopefully in an easy-handed and fun way) in Greasy Rider. Sadly, my criticism of Brother Al probably rules out any invitations for me to Leo DeCaprio's house, or a chance to eat at the cafeteria lunch table every day with the cool kids of the environmental world.
