Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Feeling the Gorebot's pain
I coined the blogospheric term "chickengreens" to describe preachy environmentalists who advocate significant changes in how people conduct their lives without themselves suffering under the burdens of those revisions, so I stand second to no one in my willingness to mock Al Gore and John Edwards and such for their large carbon footprints. That said, it seems a little harsh to pick on the Gorebot, as the International Humane Society has done, for serving Chilean sea bass at his daughter's wedding. For starters, what father even knows the menu at his daughter's wedding in advance, much less influences its selection? Indeed, had word gotten out that Gore was micro-managing his daughter's wedding for political effect, even liberals would be making fun of him.
23 Comments:
By 
GreenmanTim, at
Wed Jul 18, 08:26:00 AM:
My goodness, is there any glass left in Gore's house? Why, then, waste time throwing stones?
By 
, at
Wed Jul 18, 08:35:00 AM:
A good point, but Mr Gore extensively and expensively suggests significant standards of environmental conduct for the average American (and world citizen) but clearly cannot deliver that message effectively within his own family. Did he know the menu? I doubt it. I probably wouldn't either (or maybe I would, weddings are big-ticket items!) But I'd expect that his daughter would have enough awareness that her nearly-The-President father has made it his life's work to further environmental causes, and at least give a glance at how his money is spent on the wedding.
By TigerHawk, at
Wed Jul 18, 08:48:00 AM:
But I'd expect that his daughter would have enough awareness that her nearly-The-President father has made it his life's work to further environmental causes, and at least give a glance at how his money is spent on the wedding.
Maybe. You'd also expect his son not to drive 100 mph in a Prius with "controlled substances" in the car. Children are tough. They're wonderful as well, but in becoming individuals they do not always act in accordance with the interests of their parents. This seems doubly true for the children of politicians.
By , at
Wed Jul 18, 08:49:00 AM:
Were they ill-tempered sea bass? With lasers on their frickin' heads? =)
(Gratuitous Austin Powers reference. lol)
By , at
Wed Jul 18, 08:50:00 AM:
another anonymous person: If you had a daughter who got married, you would know that - of course her Dad knows the menu! There's not that much parents do at a wedding other than sign checks, but helping choose the catering menu is one thing they do. He knew it was being served. He may not have known this was a bad idea.
By Silas, at
Wed Jul 18, 09:24:00 AM:
If you had a daughter who got married, you would know that - of course her Dad knows the menu!
One, he's right. Two, if you know any politicians' kids, of course the parent (or a staffer) vets details of the wedding. If you're angling to be the global frontman of environmentalism, this is a funny thing to slip up on.
By , at
Wed Jul 18, 10:28:00 AM:
"preachy environmentalists who advocate significant changes in how people conduct their lives without themselves suffering under the burdens of those revisions"
Except Gore doesn't fall into that category, unless you lie about him, then I guess he does.
Let's see... advocating everyone go carbon neutral to the best of their abilities.... (that's the advocating significant change part) ... then offsetting his own carbon usage the way he asks others to do... (that's the part that ISN'T "without themselves suffering under the burdens...").
Al Gore never asked people to stop outputting carbon, and he does his best to offset his own.
Let's face it, you don't have a principled reason to hate on Al Gore, you just don't like his politics (or are ignorant of what his actual message is).
By , at
Wed Jul 18, 10:54:00 AM:
"...preachy (people] who advocate significant changes in how people conduct their lives without themselves suffering under the burdens of those revisions".
Sort of like all you chickehawks cheerleading that piece of filth in the White House while you sit in your basement in your underwear while our National Guard suffer in Iraq?
By , at
Wed Jul 18, 11:16:00 AM:
Al Gore never asked people to stop outputting carbon, and he does his best to offset his own.
Let's face it, you don't have a principled reason to hate on Al Gore, you just don't like his politics (or are ignorant of what his actual message is).
If one is very concerned about one's carbon emissions, it stands to reason that the PRIMARY way to do this is to reduce one's own consumption of CO2 energy sources. This can be done by 1) reducing energy use and 2) switching to renewable energy sources. While Gore has installed some solar energy, his overall energy consumption hasn’t gone down that much. It is still much higher than the average household. Buying carbon indulgences such as Gore advocates, are SECONDARY.
Maybe you don’t care, but I deeply resent someone who jets about the world living in a mansion preaching about global warming who has twenty times the energy consumption of the average household.
I drove only 2500 miles last year @ 30 mpg, as I work out of my home. My electricity comes from renewable wind energy. In the Texas summer, I use AC maybe 6 hours a year. In winter, my upstairs is unheated and if I turn on the heat downstairs it is to no more than 62 degrees. To me, Gore comes across as a hypocritical blowhard.
It would seem to me that someone concerned about global warming would also be concerned about endangered species. As regards his daughter’s wedding, I guess that he didn’t pay attention. On the other hand, this goes hand in hand with his not walking the walk regarding global warming.
By , at
Wed Jul 18, 11:39:00 AM:
Boludo Tejano - I applaud you for your efforts to live a more sane existence. Most Al Gore resenters are coming from a different place. They hate him because his message presents a threat our creature comforts. Rather than to carry on a losing debate for the continuation of our ruinous way of life without any limits on our waste and pollution, they prefer to focus on the less-than-perfect messenger.
By , at
Wed Jul 18, 11:45:00 AM:
Even though I'm Chilean -as in: human being from Chile- I had no idea that Chilean sea bass was an endangered species... oh, wait, it's not: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/trade/chile.pdf
By Escort81, at
Wed Jul 18, 11:59:00 AM:
Faravena, kudos for linking to the primary document. Chilean Sea Bass in not endangered, according to the U.S. government. Strangely, that's not the point -- it's enough for those who know right from wrong in terms of what we should be eating (or not) that the species is being overfished, and there is significant illegal fishing, and that it is hard to distinguish a legal from an illegal fish once it is on your plate (they don't have gang tatoos or anything).
Life at the top of the food chain can be so confounding.
By , at
Wed Jul 18, 03:48:00 PM:
Escort81,
Strangely, that is the point. The whole stupid "Look at Gore the hypocrite!" post is based on the "fact" that Chilean Sea Bass is endangered.
It's not considered endangered any more, so a column that would have been pointless and dumb to begin with is now also completely wrong.
It's the kind of thing I'd expect from a rightwing blog, but you'd think ABC's Senior National Correspondent could find something more important to write about. Apparently not.
By Escort81, at
Wed Jul 18, 05:17:00 PM:
Colin -
I hear you about the Sturm und Drang regarding who-the-heck-cares what was served at Gore's daughter's wedding, but I have to agree with GreenmanTim that there is little glass left in Gore's house -- by which I take it GT means that his hypocrisy is already well-established. TH was trying to cut the guy a little slack, from a father's perspective.
It's also true that the Chilean Sea Bass preservation issue has been out there for a while, regardless of its U.S. Government official status. Someone truly sensitive to the environment would know that. Restaurants in the Philadelphia area have gotten the word that they'll be subject to protests (along with the anti-foie gras protests that are happening outside of Le Bec Fin)
Whenever the food nazis (and I use that term in a humorous, Seinfeldian way) get into a debate with one another as to whether it is morally acceptable to consume a particular item that causes no harm to anyone, particularly an item that up to that point had been considered mainstream, based on some perception that man is committing some heinous sin against nature or beast, there is bound to be a great deal of hoisting on petards.
I frankly never know what to think. I figure if it is sold at Whole Foods, it's probably cool.
Look, there's constant debate in Maine as to whether the lobster fishery, which has been exceptionally strong for most of the last decade, is about to fall of a cliff. Plenty of base Democrats and Sierra Club environmentalists are there right now eating moist, tender tail meat dipped in butter (and I will be doing the same thing next month).
Exception to the Whole Foods "rule" -- I'll eat fresh lobsters even though the store no longer sells them, since the CEO John Mackey didn't like the idea that lobsters might feel pain when they first hit the boiling water. That's nothing compared to the pain he'll be in when he gets his first legal bill defending himself from various securities charges arising from his unfortunate habit of posting negative comments on the Yahoo! Finance comment board of Wild Oats, his chief competitor and acquisition target.
By GreenmanTim, at
Wed Jul 18, 05:40:00 PM:
Escort81, that was part of my point at the beginning of this chain. Plenty of hypocrisy there for Mr. Gore, large and small, but also largely irrelevant and a distraction from the larger environmental issue. And if consuming resources that are vulnerable to overharvest is deemed a sin for those who try and live a more sustainable lifestyle (and advocate others doing so) by those who do not, then aside from noting that pots will invariably call kettles black I fail to see the point. Or rather, it has been flogged to death. We've got bigger environmental issues to fry.
And on that note, with a green handle if not always green proclivities, I am planning a clambake this weekend. Lobsters on Cape Cod are $11.99 / lb. That will certainly keep me from overconsuming them. That's why there are sweet corn and steamers in the bake. The corn isn't local, the steamers are. No apologies, but if you are in the neighborhood, come by for seconds. Sunday afternoon, somewhere on a beach on Buzzards Bay.
By Miss Ladybug, at
Wed Jul 18, 06:55:00 PM:
As far as I'm concerned, "carbon offsets" are a shell-game. Do it yourself, please - don't attempt to by environmental indulgences (and from your own company, mind you).
I am energy-aware. I drive a Honda - a relatively fuel-efficient/low-emission vehicle.
When I was a home-owner (of a small, 2-bedroom, 900 sq. ft. "starter home"), I tried to do things to help control my energy usage - shades in the windows to help keep it cool in the summer, fixing drafty doors that first winter to keep it warm. Turning off lights when leaving a room. Photosensor on the front porch light. Had I been in need of a new AC or water heater while there, I would have likely spent a little extra money on the more efficient models (like the new tankless water heaters).
I'm not rich, so I need to watch where my money is going. Even if I didn't think "carbon offsets" were a sham, I don't have the funds to buy any. I'm no energy hog, and for one man, in ONE of his homes, to use 20 times the enery of the average household?
By , at
Wed Jul 18, 08:31:00 PM:
TigerHawk: "what father even knows the menu at his daughter's wedding in advance, much less influences its selection?"
I disagree. My father-in-law worked hard with us on menu & wine planning. Seemed perfectly normal to us, and worked out great.
Colin: "The whole stupid "Look at Gore the hypocrite!" post is based on the "fact" that Chilean Sea Bass is endangered. It's not considered endangered any more, so a column that would have been pointless and dumb to begin with is now also completely wrong. It's the kind of thing I'd expect from a rightwing blog"
Sorry, Charlie, CSB is only gradually returning to kitchens, and its return is controversial. The Marine Stewardship Council has certified one fishery, and Whole Foods carries it, but the folks who run the CSB awareness campaign are still worried, and do not like the endorsement.
So the truth lies somewhere between TH & Colin. Roughly 5% of the total (legal + illegal) CSB catch is certified now by the MSC. If Gore bought that, then he's clean, and TH should chill. But 95% is not, and both National Environmental Trust and Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch say you should still avoid CSB. So Colin's rant is uncalled-for and Gore may still be on the hook. Er, so to speak.
Bottom line: thoughtful foodies still exercise great care with CSB or avoid it altogether. Evil & ignorant right-wingers like me know that; why don't you, Colin? ;-)
Tiger Foodie
By , at
Wed Jul 18, 08:59:00 PM:
Sorry, forgot to include a link from the ignorant right-wingers at the National Environmental Trust and from culinary know-nothings like Thomas Keller, Alice Waters, and Paul Johnson.
Tiger Foodie
By , at
Thu Jul 19, 01:33:00 AM:
AL GORE is still a big time hypotcrit and just how much did AL GORE make from that fradelent LIVE EARTH concerts? AL GORE IS SELLING US SNAKE OIL AND WE DONT WANT ANY SNAKES OILED
By Brian, at
Thu Jul 19, 11:49:00 AM:
Tim Lambert shows Gore wasn't involved, the fish were caught in a special, certified, environmentally-sustainable manner anyway, and the whole story was created by that freak Tim Blair who made patsies out of most everyone along the way:
http://scienceblogs.com/deltoid/2007/07/joining_the_dots_on_an_antigor.php
Credit to Tigerhawk though for resisting the bait.
By Escort81, at
Thu Jul 19, 01:29:00 PM:
GT -
Thank you for your kind and generous invitation to the clambake on Buzzards Bay. I know the area fairly well (my godson's family has been in Sippican Harbor on Little Neck for many years), and if memory serves (from reading Tigerhawk last summer), you will be someplace north of Butler Point and south of Taylor Point at the south entrance of the Cape Cod Canal. I do have commitments here at home this weekend, however, so perhaps next month in Maine might work out for you. My favorite dockside spot will yield a pound and a quarter shedder, steamers and corn for less than $15.00.
By GreenmanTim, at
Thu Jul 19, 05:26:00 PM:
That is exceedingly tempting, Escort81. Actually, it sounds like something we ought to formalize here at Tigerhawk. Sort of a hedonist's response to those "Drinking Liberally" get togethers. Call it a Tiger Roast. Plus, Tigerhawk attracts a broader spectrum of perspectives, as a rule, among the regulars, than other conservative bloggers I've encountered. Charlottesvillain, as entertainment director, take note.
One of us could offer a venue and favorite regional cuisine - a clambake on Buzzards Bay, a barbeque in KC, a garbage plate in upstate NY and see who among us we can tempt to attend. Some of us would have to break cover, but what's anonymity compared to a plate of steamers, sweet corn and lobster?
Logistics aside, imagine digging into a rack of ribs or table piled with crabs with the likes of Bird of P., Screwy Hoolie, Skipsailing and DEC? I predict whirled peas at the very least!
By , at
Fri Jul 20, 02:07:00 AM:
Al Gore's fish dinner turns out green
By Catherine Elsworth
Last Updated: 12:01am BST 19/07/2007
But the fish enjoyed by the Gores were not endangered or illegally caught.
Rather, the restaurant later confirmed, they had come from one of the world's few well-managed, sustainable populations of toothfish, and caught and documented in compliance with Marine Stewardship Council regulations.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2007/07/19/eagore119.xml
