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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.)
Scroll down....
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.
And yet the popular perception is that George Bush is anti-environment and
Al Gore is a super environmentalist.
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.)
Scroll down....
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.
And yet the popular perception is that George Bush is anti-environment and
Al Gore is a super environmentalist.
