A tale of two houses

[moelarrycheese 0]

Tale of Two Houses

-----

House 1:

The four-bedroom home was planned so that "every room has a

relationship with something in the landscape that's different

from the room next door. Each of the rooms feels like a

slightly different place." The resulting single-story house is

a paragon of environmental planning.

The passive-solar house is built of honey-colored native

limestone and positioned to absorb winter sunlight, warming the

interior walkways and walls of the 4,000-square-foot residence.

Geothermal heat pumps circulate water through pipes buried 300

feet deep in the ground. These waters pass through a heat

exchange system that keeps the home warm in winter and cool in

summer. A 25,000-gallon underground cistern collects rainwater

gathered from roof urns; wastewater from sinks, toilets, and

showers cascades into underground purifying tanks and is also

funneled into the cistern. The water from the cistern is then

used to irrigate the landscaping around the four-bedroom home,

(which) uses indigenous grasses, shrubs, and flowers to

complete the exterior treatment of the home. In addition to

its minimal environmental impact, the look and layout of the

house reflect one of the paramount priorities: relaxation. A

spacious 10-foot porch wraps completely around the residence

and beckons the family outdoors. With few hallways to speak

of, family and guests make their way from room to room either

directly or by way of the porch. "The house doesn't hold you

in. Where the porch ends there is grass. There is no step-up at

all." This house consumes 25% of the energy of an average

American home. (Source: Cowboys and Indians Magazine, Oct.

2002 and Chicago Tribune April 2001.)

House 2:

This 20-room, 8-bathroom house consumes more electricity every

month than the average American household uses in an entire

year. The average household in America consumes 10,656

kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of

Energy. In 2006, this house devoured nearly 221,000 kWh, more

than 20 times the national average. Last August alone, the

house burned through 22,619 kWh, guzzling more than twice the

electricity in one month than an average American family uses

in an entire year. As a result of this energy consumption, the

average monthly electric bill topped $1,359. Also, natural gas

bills for this house and guest house averaged $1,080 per month

last year. In total, this house had nearly $30,000 in combined

electricity and natural gas bills for 2006. (Source: just

about anywhere in the news last month online and on talk radio,

but barely on TV.)

House 1 belongs to George and Laura Bush, and is in Crawford,

Texas.

House 2 belongs to Al and Tipper Gore, and is in Nashville,

Tennessee.

[GaryC 7]

Hmmmm..... Food for thought there.

[Niels Bohr 72]

In a communistic society, Al Gore probably would be killed. In a democratic and capitalistic society, it's okay.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Tale of Two Houses

-----

House 1:

The four-bedroom home was planned so that "every room has a

relationship with something in the landscape that's different

from the room next door. Each of the rooms feels like a

slightly different place." The resulting single-story house is

a paragon of environmental planning.

The passive-solar house is built of honey-colored native

limestone and positioned to absorb winter sunlight, warming the

interior walkways and walls of the 4,000-square-foot residence.

Geothermal heat pumps circulate water through pipes buried 300

feet deep in the ground. These waters pass through a heat

exchange system that keeps the home warm in winter and cool in

summer. A 25,000-gallon underground cistern collects rainwater

gathered from roof urns; wastewater from sinks, toilets, and

showers cascades into underground purifying tanks and is also

funneled into the cistern. The water from the cistern is then

used to irrigate the landscaping around the four-bedroom home,

(which) uses indigenous grasses, shrubs, and flowers to

complete the exterior treatment of the home. In addition to

its minimal environmental impact, the look and layout of the

house reflect one of the paramount priorities: relaxation. A

spacious 10-foot porch wraps completely around the residence

and beckons the family outdoors. With few hallways to speak

of, family and guests make their way from room to room either

directly or by way of the porch. "The house doesn't hold you

in. Where the porch ends there is grass. There is no step-up at

all." This house consumes 25% of the energy of an average

American home. (Source: Cowboys and Indians Magazine, Oct.

2002 and Chicago Tribune April 2001.)

House 2:

This 20-room, 8-bathroom house consumes more electricity every

month than the average American household uses in an entire

year. The average household in America consumes 10,656

kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of

Energy. In 2006, this house devoured nearly 221,000 kWh, more

than 20 times the national average. Last August alone, the

house burned through 22,619 kWh, guzzling more than twice the

electricity in one month than an average American family uses

in an entire year. As a result of this energy consumption, the

average monthly electric bill topped $1,359. Also, natural gas

bills for this house and guest house averaged $1,080 per month

last year. In total, this house had nearly $30,000 in combined

electricity and natural gas bills for 2006. (Source: just

about anywhere in the news last month online and on talk radio,

but barely on TV.)

House 1 belongs to George and Laura Bush, and is in Crawford,

Texas.

House 2 belongs to Al and Tipper Gore, and is in Nashville,

Tennessee.

Sounds rather similar to a report published in the Canuck edition of Readers Digest around 1982.

The worst building in energy-efficiency in Canada then was owned by the Bank Of Canada, which was preaching much on energy conservation and fiscal thrift. Can you guess who owned the most energy-efficient building--the answer was GULF CANADA (local branch of PA-based Gulf Oil, now mostly under PetroCan) whose building then known as Gulf Canada Square (I couldn't find its new name in Wiki) was designed to draw heat out of the light fixtures (albeit at the price of a rather stale atmosphere inside the building), so needing NO furnaces; in fact, it could keep a fountain running on moderately cold (-10^o-0^oC) winter days from this captured heat!

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Snopes checked this story out and it's true!! Inconveniently true.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/house.asp

[Alex+R 0]

Finally the proof we needed that global warming does not exist!

[mawilson 2,133]

Finally the proof we needed that global warming does not exist!

If only we could get the volcanoes to cooperate and reduce their CO2 emissions

to comply with Kyoto-mandated targets...

[Reynaldo 0]

In a communistic society, Al Gore probably would be killed. In a democratic and capitalistic society, it's okay.

So that means GWB is a communist #######?

[almaty 19]

In a communistic society, Al Gore probably would be killed. In a democratic and capitalistic society, it's okay.

So that means GWB is a communist #######?

President Bush is no commie..and i applaud his home in crawford, sounds cool..i like to drink a long neck Lone Star there with george w one day..i think he would be a hoot and funny as hell

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

In a communistic society, Al Gore probably would be killed. In a democratic and capitalistic society, it's okay.

So that means GWB is a communist #######?

President Bush is no commie..and i applaud his home in crawford, sounds cool..i like to drink a long neck Lone Star there with george w one day..i think he would be a hoot and funny as hell

I think he would be fun to have a few beers with. "let me call Chaney again to see if he wants to go hunting" tee hee