There’s hypocrisy. Then there’s former Vice President Al Gore. For him, it’s like a superpower.
Gore was the headliner for CNN’s “global town hall event” called “THE CLIMATE CRISIS.” It included moderator Anderson Cooper, Al Gore and questioners from the audience. The actual town hall took place in New York City, according to a CNN spokesperson.
“I just came from Seattle yesterday and they rely on the snow and ice pack there for part of their water supplies and it’s been declining rapidly,” he told Cooper.
That location is the key. Google Maps states that a flight from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to New York’s LaGuardia Airport is roughly 2,854 miles. That works out to 1.3 tons of carbon produced for just this one trip, according to Berkeley’s CoolClimate Network carbon footprint calculator.
The average American’s total carbon footprint for a year is just 21.5 tons. So Gore used up what it takes the rest of us about three weeks to generate in mere hours! Gore is notorious for flying around the globe telling others not to fly. Gore said he hit the million mile mark flying all the way back in 2005, but claims to buy carbon credits to offset that frequent travel.
Gore’s travel has been a sore point. CNN’s Jake Tapper asked him about it in early June. In response to Tapper’s question and a Trump quote criticizing Gore, the former VP said: “Well, I don't have a private jet. And what carbon emissions come from my trips on Southwest Airlines are offset. I live a carbon-free lifestyle, to the maximum extent possible.”
Apparently, the guy so involved in creating the internet never heard of Skype or telecommuting.
