Interesting House comparison... this was forwarded from a friend... I would be interested to see the sources of the information....
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 ALONE this mansion consumes more energy
than the average American household in an ENTIRE YEAR. The average
bill for electricity and natural gas runs over $2,400.00 per month.
In natural gas alone (which last time we checked was a fossil fuel),
this property consumes more than 20 times the national average for an
American home. This house is not in a northern or Midwestern "snow
belt," either. 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 contains only 4,000 square
feet (4 bedrooms) and is nestled on arid 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 winter and cools it
in summer. The system uses no fossil fuels such as oil or natural
gas, and it consumes 25% of the 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. Flowers and shrubs native
to the area blend the property into the surrounding rural landscape.
HOUSE #1 (20 room energy guzzling mansion) is outside of
Nashville,Tennessee. It is the abode of that renowned
environmentalist (and filmmaker) Al Gore.
HOUSE #2 (model eco-friendly house) is on a ranch near Crawford,
Texas. Also known as "the Texas White House," it is the private
residence of the President of the United States, George W. Bush.