A letter to the editor in today’s NYT:
Discussions and action on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions anywhere and everywhere in the world are hugely important.
But when referring to electricity and natural gas use at Mr. Gore’s Tennessee home, it’s unreasonable to contrast them with use in an “average” American home. Obviously anyone who has served for years in Congress and two terms as vice president, with a large family, needs and has a much larger than average home.
Comparisons should be with homes of similar size, in areas of similar average temperatures and consequent air-conditioning use. Environmentalists don’t have to live in caves to be good citizens.
Al and Tipper Gore both work in that home; they pay extra for green power; they use multiple forms of energy-saving technology; and as Mr. Easterbrook reports, they purchase carbon offsets.
They walk the talk. May we all do as much.
Douglas C. Kelley
Ann Arbor, Mich., March 9, 2007
