Anyone remember this little PR stunt by Al "Mr. Environmentalist" Gore?
algore-2000.org
Connecticut River is raised 8 inches for Gore "rowboat" photo-op; "Environmentalist" Veep wastes 4 billion gallons, worth $7.1 million
WASHINGTON (July 23) - What's it take to float Vice President Al Gore's boat? 4 billions of water, that's what - at a cost of more than $7.1 million. All for a good cause, however (at least according to the "environmentalist" Vice President), since it provided Gore a photo-opportunity to highlight a $100,000 grant to the Connecticut River Joint Commission.
According to The Washington Times and The Associated Press, the Secret Service and the Connecticut River Joint Commission directed Pacific Gas & Electric to unleash approximately 4 billion gallons of water yesterday into the Connecticut River so Gore's rowboat wouldn't get stuck during a 4-mile photo opportunity. The release of the 4 billion gallons from a dam upstream raised the level of the river by 8 to 10 inches, and has drawn the ire of environmental officials in the region.
"They won't release the water for the fish when we ask them to, but somehow they find themselves able to release it for a politician," said Vermont Department of Natural Resources Director John Kassel in The Times. Kassel, who accompanied Gore on the trip, said that "the only reason they did this was to make sure the Vice President's canoe didn't get stuck."
"It was a bit artificial, to be honest with you," Kassel told The Times. "But the river was pretty dry and no one wanted the canoes to be dragging on the bottom. Vice President Gore's people were concerned that we not raise the level too high, either, because they didn't want it to be dangerous."
"So much for the environmentalist Vice President," remarked Republican National Committee Chairman Jim Nicholson. Citing Gore's book, "Earth in the Balance," Nicholson recalled that Gore "once lectured us that 'increasing per capita use' of fresh water, combined with 'global climate change,' could lead to 'poverty, hunger, and disease,' 'revolutionary political disorder,' and 'wars fought over natural resources like fresh water.'" ("Earth in the Balance," pp. 111, 113, 279)
According to revised federal standards contained in the 1992 National Energy Policy Act and supported by the Clinton-Gore administration, toilets manufactured after 1994 must have a maximum capacity of 1.6 gallons. Under those standards, Nicholson jokingly noted, Gore's 4 billion gallon photo-opportunity wasted the equivalent of 2.5 billion toilet flushes, or 2,110 flushes for each of New Hampshire's 1,185,000 residents.
According to water usage rates published by the Pennichuck Water Works, Inc., which serves the region, the value of the 4 billion gallons wasted was approximately $7.1 million, Nicholson said. |
