What is the Carbon Footprint of the McCain Mansions?

Repeat after me:

Saving the environment is not about politics!

Saving the environment is not about politics!

Saving the environment is not about politics!

The inclusion of the line Its Payback Time! turns an issue that should easily cross party lines into a partisan protectionist whine fest.

Written with a different slant this could have been an effective environmental challenge to McCain and his supporters; as it is currently written it seems to be partisan mud throwing.

I agree with TrollPatrol.

This is not the useful Treehugger blogging I usually enjoy reading. Don't forget that alienating readers will affect your ability to feed them ads.

'TrollPatrol' hits the nail on the head. Partisan bickering is why there is no progress on environmental protection at the national level. The fact that someone would criticize Al Gore does not automatically make them a Republican. The fact that someone would support environmental reform does not automatically make them a Democrat. This foolish 'us-against-them' attitude only hurts the cause and fuels greater division in this country.

An enthusiastic second to Troll Patrol's comment...

The partisan slant of this article is a major turn off.

Sugar attracts more flies than vinegar, loose the chip on your shoulder to reach more people.

I too agree with Troll Patrol and subsequent commenters. Gore was an inconvenient hypocrite. McCain would be a hypocrite if he routinely hired illegal aliens or were doing things that contradicted McCain-Feingold since those are the issues he is best known for.

The larger issue is how do you get those Republicans and Independents to come over to the green side. This type of article, while it might have been good to write, doesn't do that. It's petty, divisive and actually hurts the cause. Other than that I found the piece very informative. Who would have guessed that a rich person has a large carbon footprint?

OMG OMG! What is the carbon footprint of that piano! I bet McCain doesn't even play it! OMG!!!

Reporting on the resource use of celebrities is just as wasteful.

I'm glad there are other readers on the same page. I had commented earlier (http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/07/survey-are-we-too-political.php) that the slant here will turn off pro-environment conservatives or conservatives wanting to learn more / support solutions for environmental issues. The "us vs. them" approach of partisan environmentalists hurts everyone. Imagine a technology blog like Engadget, where every story about product quality from China referenced poor quality and knock-offs - that would be unfair, inaccurate, and, even if minimally, could detract from technological communication and progress on a global scale. Or, say, articles about product quality from the US, where every article would reference China's poor product quality. It's the same here. If Engadget writes neutrally about products, and calls out knock-offs when the products are knock-offs without branding everything from one country as poor-quality, or championing US quality versus Chinese - even if Chinese quality is "on average" poorer - Treehugger could similarly write neutrally.

Rather than a conservative coming away with an attitude of "they're right, this shows that McCain really has to step up to the environmental plate far more, starting with himself - I want more commitment on his side", it's much easier for me to come away thinking "they have a point, but these leftists are again looking for another chance to knock the republican candidate - so are they really reporting accurately on the faults of the politicians on the left?" Tell me, which is more effective at creating the better environment (no pun intended) for environmental change? Try instead to *challenge* non-environmentally friendly consrevatives to change.

Of course, it's obviously Treehugger's choice to be partisan, so I'm not sure the point of this comment.

@Lloyd,

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

@Bill S, Flahooler & Chris

It seems we can have a positive effect, and I think we should all thank Lloyd for this re-write.

Rewrite much appreciated. Glad there's still some of that good old Treehugger site that I loved left to share with the world.

In the interest of fairness, a number of those homes are lived in by his family members. He probably co-signed for tax or credit reasons.

In a similar context, My father 'owns' the house my sister lives in (she has serious trouble paying bills after nasty divorce), and he cosigned for the condo I live in (I pay all the bills).

Thanks, guys. You know, there are some Republicans that come here on a daily basis. At least one does, and that's me. It always annoyed me to have to read MOVEON.org-style articles when I am genuinely trying to change my party for the better. Green conservatives should be nurtured, not neutered.

@David,

Keep returning and bring more of your party members with you please. I'm not overly concerned with political affiliations, neither red nor blue, as long as your environmental affiliation is getting closer to an honest green :D

Lloyd, thank you for the modification. More stories reported like this helps more than you know - I can forward those articles to my friends and family who will actually read and consider them, rather than stopping their reading at the first sign of partisanship and immediately accusing me of being a closet Democrat!!

I would be interested in hearing about Obama's footprint as well. For that matter, why not take a look at all of congress. I bet we would all find some surprises on both sides of the isle.

By the way, @ Jeff Kuper, McCain is violating McCain-Feingold by blocking 3rd party candites like Bob Barr, Cynthia McKinney and Ralph Nader from debates.