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  1. #1
    Richard Stanley's Avatar
    Richard Stanley Guest

    Default a tale of 2 houses

    Subject: A 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.

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  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Houston, Texas
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    Default Re: a tale of 2 houses

    Oh the irony!


  3. #3
    Tim Moreira's Avatar
    Tim Moreira Guest

    Thumbs down Re: a tale of 2 houses

    And to think I cringe at my $160.00 electric bill.

    Yikes


  4. #4
    Join Date
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    Philadelphia PA
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    Default Re: a tale of 2 houses

    "George Bush and Prince Abdullah stroll through spring flowers at the Bush ranch in Crawford, Texas. " AP

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  5. #5
    Tim Moreira's Avatar
    Tim Moreira Guest

    Default Re: a tale of 2 houses

    Why are they holding hands?

    Is that a middle eastern custom?

    Would make me feel uneasy to have a grown man hold my hand while we walked.

    Gosh, I gotta go take a shower now.


  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
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    Colorado Springs, CO
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    Default Re: a tale of 2 houses

    Of course Gore's utility bill is higher than Bush's. Bush isn't living in his house. And, judging by Gore's weight gain, he does a lot of cooking.

    "Baseball is like church. Many attend but few understand." Leo Durocher
    Bruce Breedlove
    www.avaloninspection.com

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
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    Philadelphia PA
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    Default Re: a tale of 2 houses

    Tim - Yes, that is a middle eastern custom. But it gives me the creeps for other reasons.

    "There is no exception to the rule that every rule has an exception." -James Thurber, writer and cartoonist (1894-1961)
    www.ArnoldHomeInspections.com

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Chicago, IL
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    Default Re: a tale of 2 houses

    Gore’s house:

    http://pajamasmedia.com/upload/2007/02/goregateshot.jpg

    is replicated thousands of times in the older suburbs north of Chicago near the lake.

    It’s pretty typical of how the more successful professionals and corporate types at about the VP level live in my area if they live in an older home – smaller than the largest “estate” type residences, but larger than many similarly styled and constructed homes in the same area - all of them difficult to justify updating to higher standards of energy efficiently once you have picked the low-hanging fruit increased attic insulation and the like.

    What I find of more concern is that the people building new McMansions in the same areas will spend $125,000 on a kitchen, but baulk at $1,250 for increased energy efficiency.

    And while I applaud Bush’s decision to live in a more energy efficient structure, the picture that sticks in my mind is the one of Bush sitting in an idling heavy-duty pickup just inside the gates at Crawford - waiting for the arrival of some member of the Saudi ruling family.

    As a nation, that's the immediate problem.


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