Al Gore: ex-VP, environmentalist, gadget freak

We all know former-VP Al Gore loves his Apple gear. Besides sitting on Cupertino's board of directors, he was happy to be shown toting his then-PowerBook around giving that wacky Academy Award-winning Keynote presentation of his. But today in Time's photo essay of his life, we got to see another side of Al Gore: gadget junkie. It's not too often you catch a glimpse of these high profile figures' inner info-sanctums, but we're not at all disappointed in how he holds court over the internet kingdom legend holds he created.

From here it looks like the dude's all hooked up with a triple-head 30-inch Cinema Display rig (daaaamn!), what appears to be a Sharp HDTV on the wall (we're gonna guess that's a LC-32D7U), Humanscale Freedom ergo-chair, and an iPod (didn't the President, who owns one, help develop 'em?), whose box sits up in his shelf. Not to get all political and stuff, but surely this office, messy though it may be, is a step up from Bush's humbler means of input, no?

P.S. -Yeah, fine, we're creepy gadget stalkers, what of it?

[Bill @ May 22nd 2007 7:16PM]

Nice monitor setup there! Very impressed. Now I hope he's not just pretending to understand computers, and after the photo was shot, he picks up the mouse and tries talking into it or something.

Looking at this photo, another question comes to mind. How much extra greenhouse gasses are generated to produce enough power for those three displays, plus the LCD on the wall?

[Mickey Jones @ May 22nd 2007 7:16PM]

Well sure, you do know he invented the Internet don't you?

[Mike G. @ May 22nd 2007 7:18PM]

This picture has been on the Drudge Report for days now. It's very surprising that Mr. Gore uses all that environmentally unfreindly stuff (ie. paper, Apple displays, TV's, and of course the environmentally unfriendly power that comes from, OMG, FOSSIL FUELS!). Anyways, if anyone happens to run by Drudge Report and look at its general layout and compare that to the image on the second monitor, you may see that the image bears some resemblance to that of Drudge.

[Tris @ May 22nd 2007 7:19PM]

All I see is DEAD TREES!!

Joking aside, I thought WE where the ones wasting energy. :P

C'mon Al, lrn2Expose

[xtian @ May 22nd 2007 7:19PM]

The stuff on the monitor looks fake, the text doesn't line up with the angle of the monitor. If you look at the text/images on the leftmost monitor the text seems to be going UP into the right side of the screen instead of going parallel... a little photoshopping in the mag? FAKE!!! haha

[Somedude @ May 22nd 2007 7:19PM]

Thats funny, doesnt apple do a really poor job at being eco-friendly? So why would al gore be 'omg, apple products! lets save the planet....' ???

[Richard Lai @ May 22nd 2007 7:22PM]

Are the gadgets RoHS compliant?

[Peace @ May 22nd 2007 7:22PM]

Big oil companies make money from global warming by C02 myth, despite their false attempts to attack it, because they're then allowed to increase the price of their product to, in the mind of the public, push people to use less.

Al Gore is nothing but a hypocrite who pushed for the bombing of Kosovo with depleted uranium munitions. Depleted uranium is highly radioactive and causes mutations in newborn children. Furthermore, it swirls into the atmosphere and spreads throughout the world.

[Alex @ May 23rd 2007 12:10AM]

How else do you expect the government to covertly accelerate the evolution of humans? People sure as hell doen't like them doing anything with stemcells.

[stitifier @ May 22nd 2007 7:50PM]

That has got to be the stupidest thing I have ever read. Seriously. You're purporting that "Big Oil" is behind the push for cleaner climate standards because, in your words, people using less actually DRIVE UP prices? Do you know ANYTHING about economics? Supply and demand? Basic math? I'm guessing not. Go back to 8th grade, genius.

And for those of you saying that Al Gore's a hypocrite for using all that technology: #1, he's a busy, important guy, who probably actually makes use of it for business purposes and not for gaming like the rest of you losers, and #2, where in the world does it say that he just leaves it on when he walks out of the room? Work requires energy. All Al Gore has done is raise awareness of the climate change issue, and he does his best to make sure that the work and lifestyle he leads is in accordance with that. Nobody's perfect. Christ.

[david @ May 22nd 2007 8:54PM]

Moron

[Jason @ May 23rd 2007 1:23AM]

The funny thing about science (and scientist, Doctors, et. al) is that they are not always right. 500 years ago the best of the best thought the Sun revolved around the earth, 300 years ago they concluded the world was flat, just 70 years ago cigarettes were good for you, so far be it that the scientific/medical community to make a mistake. Just cause "every scientific journal" says that humans are causing global warming... surely it must be true. Just dont tell Copernicus or Magellan.

[gfhfghfghfgh @ May 23rd 2007 3:00AM]

Errrm... that the earth is a sphere was already known to scientist long _before_ the alleged birth of Christ. It's true that the average medieval guy did not know it, but every scientist did.

Get your facts straight.

[donut @ May 22nd 2007 7:24PM]

Al Gore is an Apple Board Director, duh...

[Kryz @ May 22nd 2007 7:25PM]

I don't think the image is fake, xtian. That text doesn't seem to go up, it's just the paragraphs that seem diagonal because of the fact that the last sentences end mid-column. It's not photoshopped, as far as I can see on this low-res picture.

And about the Apple screens: he's in the board of directors of Apple, so you'd expect him to use that stuff. And no, neither those screens, nor all the paper scattered around, are very eco-friendly.

[Peace @ May 22nd 2007 7:26PM]

And before you say I deny global warming, I don't. I am just saying that the evidence points to it being related to solar activity; the polar ice caps on Mars are melting, too! I guess the Martians drive too many humvees!

[Sean O @ May 22nd 2007 8:07PM]

What evidence. You're an idiot who thinks he's an expert because Matt Drudge or Rush Limbaugh told you some made-up fact based on nonsense. Try reading for a change. Start here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26065-2004Dec25.html

ALL science journals attribute human CO2 waste as the MAJOR cause of global warming. Not some. Not most. All of them.

[Jorge @ May 22nd 2007 7:27PM]

At least his desk is messy. When someone work desk is messy it means that he is actually doing some work and not pretend to be busy unlike some person who last name is a type of plant(wink wink).

Great computer set up. It makes mine own look small. I have one 23" apple cinema display and a 23" dell monitor hook up to a Power Mac G5.

[adrianj @ May 22nd 2007 7:30PM]

That looks like a JBL Creature speaker hanging out in front of the middle display.

[derek @ May 22nd 2007 7:37PM]

yep, its white JBL Creature II speakers

[AC @ May 22nd 2007 7:35PM]

This documentary has been shown to be junk:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Global_Warming_Swindle

The producer Martin Durkin, has produced other dubious documentaries.

[Phred @ May 22nd 2007 7:37PM]

To Somedude - actually Apple are pretty, Greenpeace just ingenuously accused them of not being, probably to attract publicilty.

The LCD panels he uses are way more eco-friendly than CRTs...

Paper in itself is not eco unfriendly - one it comes from a renuable resource, usually from tree farms rather than native forests; two it can be recycled.

[Mickey Jones @ May 22nd 2007 8:32PM]

" The LCD panels he uses are way more eco-friendly than CRTs...

Paper in itself is not eco unfriendly - one it comes from a renuable resource, usually from tree farms rather than native forests; two it can be recycled. "

And no energy was required to build three LCDs? Part of the "global warming" message is to consume less not just to use EnergyStar rated products. How does living in a big house with 3 huge monitors and a TV on = consume less?

And recycling paper requires energy. Coal, gas, oil, nuclear. You pick which one because I don't know of any solar power recyclers.

It's not about his message, but whether he abides by it.

[Don Is Good @ May 22nd 2007 7:37PM]

If Al is an environmentalist, why all those trees... urr.... paper in his office?

Shouldn't he go paper-less?

[Sean O @ May 22nd 2007 8:16PM]

No he shouldn't. Instead, you should go airless. See how long you can breath underwater for.

The man made a movie explaining the dangers of global warming and how it is caused. That does not mean he's some sort of hypocrite if he chooses not to live in the wild. Quite the contrary. He's already done a thousand times more for humankind than some weasly ignoramous like yourself could ever dream of.

In fact if there was a massive paper shortage and only one person was allowed to use paper for the rest of their life, it should be him.

[Patrick @ May 22nd 2007 7:39PM]

Reposted with context:

>Peace @ May 22nd 2007 7:17PM
>Please, click and watch this: >http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?>docid=2332531355859226455&q=Global+Warming+swindle

This documentary has been shown to be junk:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Global_Warming_Swindle

The producer Martin Durkin, has produced other dubious documentaries.

[Peace @ May 22nd 2007 7:39PM]

He doesn't even believe his own genocidal myth -- he's got energy-drinking monitors, and he has his tv on and is not watching it. A survey of his mansion recently showed he uses 20 x the average U.S house.

http://digg.com/politics/Al_Gore_s_mansion_uses_20X_that_of_a_normal_American_household

As I said before, watch this:

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=2332531355859226455&q=Global+Warming+swindle

[- @ May 22nd 2007 8:02PM]

You failed to mention Gore's electricity comes from a green energy provider and he has solar panels installed.

[david @ May 22nd 2007 8:59PM]

What do you expect him to use for monitors, mud molded into the shape of a screen?

Peace, you are a 1 percenter by not believing people are THE major contributors to global warming. That and cow farts!

[Luke @ May 22nd 2007 7:40PM]

Jorge... that's the dumbest thing I've heard all day. My desk looks like two tornado's played twister on it (har har) and I can promise you I haven't done anything useful all week. ;)

[Peace @ May 22nd 2007 7:42PM]

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/07aug_southpole.htm

Mars' ice caps melting, too. It's to do with the sun, which is beyond human control.

[Spartan_458 @ May 22nd 2007 7:44PM]

Bill Says:
"Bill @ May 22nd 2007 7:16PM

Nice monitor setup there! Very impressed. Now I hope he's not just pretending to understand computers, and after the photo was shot, he picks up the mouse and tries talking into it or something.

Looking at this photo, another question comes to mind. How much extra greenhouse gasses are generated to produce enough power for those three displays, plus the LCD on the wall?"


I think he is most definitely pretending to understand computers. He invented the internet, remember? [/sarcasm] And i think that for these reasons:

1. That would be the reason for buying an Apple, would it not? Apples are, after all, designed on the principle that the people who buy them most likely don't know how to turn on a computer, let alone use one.

2. Al Gore is, like, a billion years old. He can't use a computer.

3. He blames humans for causing global warming. That right there makes him too ignorant to actually know how to use a computer.

4. He needs to stop being rich. No, that's not a reason, I just figured I should point that out. Anyone rich enough to afford 3 30-inch displays needs to stop at life.

Anyway, he is one of the many reasons i don't buy Apple products. I could go into the others, like shoddy quality and proprietary everything, but i won't.

[Rick @ May 22nd 2007 7:49PM]

Where's the flood of anti-Aple BS? Only two pages of verbal vomit? Fanboys choking on their recyclables, maybe?

Gore, the "savior" tiddles Mac keys. Ewwww. Better the Earth should turn to a cinder, right?

[theo @ May 22nd 2007 7:52PM]

The funny thing is, those three LCD panels probably use the same amount of electricity as Bush's little old CRT.

BTW, you're all trolls.

[Peace @ May 22nd 2007 7:58PM]

The push is to increase the price of fossil fuels. The oil companies make more money from their sales. There is no push for 'clean', renuable energy. It's smoke and mirrors. Greg Palast, a BBC reporter, got his hands on Shell's internal documents that showed they orchestrated the 'peak oil' myth as a means to justify increased prices. Trust me, I'd like nothing better than to be totally self-sustainable, but they're not giving us alternatives. The third world will literally lose millions of lifes due to constraints set against them by organisations to keep CO2 levels down, when the evidence showing that CO2 contributes to climate change is doubted by numerous -- non goverment or big oil funded -- scientists.

[Peace @ May 22nd 2007 8:00PM]

The Telegraph (prestigous British newspaper)

title: The truth about global warming - it's the Sun that's to blame

link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/07/18/wsun18.xml

[stitifier @ May 22nd 2007 8:19PM]

From http://solar-center.stanford.edu/sun-on-earth/glob-warm.html

"Some uncertainty remains about the role of natural variations in causing climate change. Solar variability certainly plays a minor role, but it looks like only a quarter of the recent variations can be attributed to the Sun. At most. During the initial discovery period of global warming, the magnitude of the influence of increased activity on the Sun was not well determined.

Solar irradiance changes have been measured reliably by satellites for only 30 years. These precise observations show changes of a few tenths of a percent that depend on the level of activity in the 11-year solar cycle. Changes over longer periods must be inferred from other sources. Estimates of earlier variations are important for calibrating the climate models. While a component of recent global warming may have been caused by the increased solar activity of the last solar cycle, that component was very small compared to the effects of additional greenhouse gases. According to a NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS). "...the solar increases do not have the ability to cause large global temperature increases...greenhouse gases are indeed playing the dominant role..." The Sun is once again less bright as we approach solar minimum, yet global warming continues."

[Sean O @ May 22nd 2007 8:30PM]

The Telegraph, presigous!!! LMAO! Are you kidding? You think it's prestigious because of what? They're British? It's not even British.

You're a complete moron. It's an online version of some right-wing wacko newspaper in New Hampshire. Their 15 minutes of fame came from a controversey where the Regan campaign bribed them by paying them to host a debate during the 1980 Republican Primaries.

Real prestigious.

[David @ May 23rd 2007 2:33AM]

>Sean O @ May 22nd 2007 8:30PM

>The Telegraph, presigous!!! LMAO! Are you kidding? You think it's prestigious because of what? They're British? It's not even British.

>You're a complete moron. It's an online version of some right-wing wacko newspaper in New Hampshire.

No, you're a complete moron. The Telegraph linked was the respected British Daily Telegraph. No association afaik to the New Hampshire Telegraph. Next time, read the links people provide for you before arguing against them - a simple courtesy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/07/18/wsun18.xml

[Mickey Jones @ May 22nd 2007 8:21PM]

Really? And how many solar panels will fit on a mansion? Does Apple use a green energy provider?

Why is it the people who tell us we are consuming too much are usually the biggest consumers.

Why does Edwards rally about poverty but has a indoor basketball court in his mansion? Why does John Travolta say we need to do something about global warming but owns his own Boeing 727? What about leading by example?

Al Gore is one man and I am one man but I guarantee he leaves a bigger carbon trail on the planet than I do. Maybe he should buy some of my carbon credits so he can run 3 monitors and a TV at the same time while heating/cooling his super-sized home.

[John @ May 23rd 2007 9:52AM]

And you failed to mention that this "green" energy provider is buying "Carbon offsets" which mean exactly NOTHING to the environment... its a way for people to feel good abotu themselves.. isnt that cute?

[randmackay @ May 23rd 2007 11:32AM]

I did a really quick and dirty estimate of how much power these 3 displays and his computer consume (without knowing his video cards, type of mac (g5 vs macpro), but I've come up with between 700 and 800 Watts of electricity (and that's not a peak consumption). Yikes!!!!!!

[JLTate @ May 23rd 2007 11:58AM]

Hey, that's almost like running a microwave! ... All the time.

Gotta love Al "Do as I say, not as I do" Gore.

[Ryan Block @ May 22nd 2007 8:03PM]

Hey everybody -- can we cool it with the politics? This is Engadget, not DailyKos / Instapundit.

[Ryan Block @ May 22nd 2007 8:04PM]

Awesome: Instapundit has a Gore desk story up right now. Ha. Still, the point stands.

[Richard White @ May 22nd 2007 8:13PM]

While all the tech stuff is ok, would you take a look at that piece of Art on the wall. How cool is it to have a giant tree frog statue stuck to your wall? Sweeeet!!! I wonder where he got that...

[phil ottenbrite @ Oct 21st 2007 6:52PM]

yes the frog is amazing but does anyone know who made it and where I can see this artist's work?

[Peace @ May 22nd 2007 8:14PM]

No, I am not even American. So stop trying to do some right, left thing. Not all scientists agree. I can think for myself, and the evidence I have seen from both sides points to it being due to solar activity. Volcanoes, algae and such spew multiple times more CO2 than we do with our cars and such. I do believe in global warming, but the evidence points to it being due to solar activity. Bush is a fucking idiot, the Neo Cons are a bunch of war mongering sell-outs, as are the Democrats. News flash: both political parties screw you.

[stitifier @ May 22nd 2007 8:23PM]

And as for the notion that both political parties are out to screw you, that's also retarded. Only 1 of those parties concocted evidence to thrust us into an unnecessary war; only 1 of those parties consistently denies the science behind climate change; only 1 of those parties appears determined to impose a theological ideology on its constituency. I defy you to name 1 thing the Democrats have done that even come close to matching those feats of political retardery. The whole notion that "all politicians are equally bad" is stupid. Some people, after all, are actually worse than others.

[ABAIL @ May 22nd 2007 10:10PM]

ignorant.