Houses

17 years ago

I found this soooo interesting that I even checked it with Snopes and found it to be unbelievably TRUE.

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 preception is that George Bush is anti-environment and Al Gore is a super envioronmentalist.

Is it any wonder that many people think the press has a liberal bias?

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Comments (10)

lesdvs9
17 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
WOW! And, there's the rest of the story.....
Thanks for that info, pretty interesting considering. I don't particularly like either. I'll have to pass that on, I have a few people in mind too:)
youreit
17 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Awesome info, Westelle! I had NO clue about either of those. Confirmation, indeed. :)

Brenda
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CA Kate z9
Original Author
17 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I'd loooove to see the Bush's house... it sounds most interesting. I'd like to have the money to build a house like that.... and it would be expensive. We wanted to do a solar panel array here, but found that it would pay for itself in about 20 years.... a bit too long for my life span and ability to keep up with this property.
zinniachick
17 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
A couple of things in this description defy logic: The toilet wastewater would never be funneled into a system to be distributed anywhere without at least going through a purifying plant bog, which would have to be above-ground. And a wraparound porch would block the winter sun if it continued across the house's south side. Do you have a link to a website where I could see photos?

Thanks for posting this. It's really interesting info, especially if it's true. I do think the Bush/Gore political records stand on their own, regardless of whether one of the numerous houses each owns is green-built. Still wonderful, though, if Bush sees the beauty and efficiency of this design. There's hope!
CA Kate z9
Original Author
17 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I don't have photos or a web site but you might try looking here: (Source: Cowboys and Indians Magazine, Oct. 2002 and Chicago Tribune April 2001.)

I imagine that the black-waste water system makes the water usable for plant use. As I said, I'd love to have the MONEY to have a home similar to this.
sleeplessinftwayne
17 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I don't see anything about what the houses cost per sq. foot to build. Sandy
youreit
17 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I have a feeling that they simplied the explanation of water purification when they wrote that. I've also tried looking for images, but since it's one of the Prez.'s residences, it's pretty top secret.

Gore's political record may be fine and dandy, but with $30,000 worth of electricity bills in ONE year, what's the point? We should all conserve, not just those who have the power to decide what we should do to conserve. That was the issue which surprised me even more than the Crawford, TX, home.

Sandy, I'm thinking the main point wasn't how much they cost to build (although, I'm sure neither one would be affordable to the "average" American), but how much (or how little) they cost to maintain, not only economically, but environmentally, as well.

Brenda
calpat
17 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Over many years I have made drawings of my dream home, which includes all the solar power, enviornment resources available, etc. I had a contractor friend take a look & his reply was "you need a better paying job", this translates to lots of money needed. I notice periodically, that many Californians, especially in the central valley area have installed solar power, but they also say that it takes a few years to recover investment. I still hope, in my life time, that solar power especially will become a common installation in homes as well as factories. In the meantime, I set the therostats & threaten anyone who even looks like they are going to change them. Shame on Gore and kudos to Bush(even though I still think his Mama should smack him once in a while)
Thanks for sharing this with us! Pat
sleeplessinftwayne
17 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
We attempted to create a self-sufficient house in Wisconsin. We did enough that the state gave us an award and some hefty rebates but the devices that would have eliminated the need for a furnace were so expensive we couldn't have gotten any payback in 20 years. I think a point that is being missed here is some people have a lot of money to throw at a hobby horse. Also, the differences in the geography could have a lot to do with what is practical. Another point would be how many people live or work at that house. Sandy
bluebama
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Hypocrisy knows no political stripe, as proven by this example.
As a postscript, I'm sure everyone knows that Junior and Laura abandoned the photo-op "ranch" and high-tailed it back to the super-exclusive/ gated/country club community in Dallas, once W's two terms were done. Now, poor Ted Nugent has lost has best and only friend in Crawford. Will he be moving back to Michigan, too?
Having said that, I would love to have a home like the one in Crawford - if only I and the average American could afford it. I admire the innovative environmental design, no matter who occupied it. Kudos to the Bush family(can't believe I'm saying that!) for their foresight in embracing green construction and design.