The tale of two houses. A Read worth your time!
House #1 - A 20 room mansion (not including 8 bathrooms) heated by
natural gas. Add on a pool (and a pool house) and a separate guest
house, all heated by gas. In one month this residence consumes more
energy than the average American household does in a year. The average
bill for electricity and natural gas runs over $2400 per month. In
natural gas alone, this property consumes more than 20 times the
national average for an American home. This house is not situated in a
Northern or Midwestern "snow belt" area. It's in the South.
House #2 - Designed by an architecture professor at a leading national
university. This house incorporates every "green" feature current home
construction can provide. The house is 4,000 square feet (4 bedrooms)
and is nestled on a high prairie in the American southwest. A central
closet in the house holds geothermal heat-pumps drawing ground water
through pipes sunk 300 feet into the ground.
The water (usually 67 degrees F) heats the house in the winter and cools
it in the summer. The system uses no fossil fuels such as oil or natural
gas and it consumes one-quarter electricity required for a conventional
heating/cooling system. Rainwater from the roof is collected and
funneled into a 25,000 gallon underground cistern. Wastewater from
showers, sinks and toilets goes into underground purifying tanks and
then into the cistern. The collected water then irrigates the land
surrounding the house. Surrounding flowers and shrubs native to the area
enable the property to blend into the surrounding rural landscape.
~~~~~
HOUSE #1 is outside of Nashville, Tennessee; it is the abode of the
"environmentalist" Al Gore.
HOUSE #2 is on a ranch near Crawford, Texas; it is the residence of ex
President of the United States, George W. Bush.
I sure hope this gets passed to everyone!
And, yes .. I DID check Snopes prior to forwarding it.
You can verify it at : http://www.snopes.com/ politics/bush/house.asp