TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Charlie Crist burns ethanol in his official car and uses the sun's rays to heat his swimming pool, all part of his efforts to make Florida a leader in combating climate change.
"We are providing the moral leadership needed to preserve our state's beautiful natural environment. State government is leading by example," Crist said at his recent climate change summit.
Gov. Charlie Crist gestures toward the solar water-heating system installed in July for the pool at the Governor's Mansion in Tallahassee. It saves about $3,500 a year. Crist's predecessor, Jeb Bush, opted not to heat the pool.
Yet there is one area where Crist has declined to take the lead in stopping global warming: having to be literally warm himself. Yet there is one area where Crist has declined to take the lead in stopping global warming: having to be literally warm himself.
The governor likes the The The governor likes the Governor's Mansion cool - "like a meat locker" is how he enthusiastically puts it - despite the high energy and associated carbon dioxide emissions costs.
How high a cost?
A Florida Solar Energy Center study from 1996 found that, for every degree a thermostat is set below 81, electricity use increases slightly more than 13 percent. That means that setting the air conditioning at 72, the temperature Crist prefers, uses 110 percent more electricity than setting it at 78, which is where many energy conservation experts recommend.
"It's very easy by over-cooling your house to double your cooling costs," said the city of Tallahassee Utilites' Tom Gillman, who audited energy use at the Governor's Mansion in April at Crist's request. "The closer you keep your house to the outside temperature, the less the unit is going to run."
With 13,000 square feet under air conditioning at the mansion, moving to the higher temperature setting there could save $960 and about 7,000 pounds of carbon dioxide each summer month because Tallahassee Utilities uses natural gas-fired power plants.
"Well, you just try to do the best you can," Crist said when asked about his lead finger on the thermostat.
Since taking office seven months ago, Crist has worked hard to raise the profile of climate change as a mainstream issue in Florida. Following up on a vow he made in his first State of the State speech in March, he sponsored a global climate change conference in Miami two weeks ago, attracting fellow green Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California.
The event culminated in a series of sweeping executive orders, including one that could, with federal approval, force automakers to sell cars in Florida that produce significantly less carbon dioxide.
At the Governor's Mansion, Crist had the state Department of Management Services install a $3,500 solar water-heating system this monththat will cut in half the natural gas needed to keep the pool fit for his morning swim year-round. The savings: about $3,500 and 22,000 pounds of carbon dioxide each year.
His predecessor, Jeb Bush, didn't have that expense. He didn't heat the pool.
The Chevrolet Tahoe SUV Crist uses in Tallahassee runs on a fuel mixture that is about three-quarters ethanol, the same type of alcohol in beer, wine and spirits.
When burned, it also creates carbon dioxide, but most experts believe it is a more benign fuel than petroleum because the carbon that the burning releases is balanced by carbon that plants absorb and that will be used later to distill more ethanol.
In other regards, though, Crist's lifestyle generates far more carbon dioxide emissions than that of the typical Floridian.
When Crist moves from city to city, for example, it is usually aboard the state's Cessna business jet that burns more than 1,000 pounds of kerosene fuel an hour, in the process creating more than 3,400 pounds of carbon dioxide.
The figures are nearly twice those from the slower but more efficient turboprop that the jet replaced when Bush leased the jet four years ago. The new plane goes 45 percent faster, cutting the flight time from Tallahassee to Miami by 25 minutes.
Crist has argued that a governor needs to travel around the state, and that a state plane lets him make the best use of his time.
He attempts no such defense of his personal preference for heavy-duty air conditioning.
Some global warming activists who might criticize such choices in others appeared willing to give Crist a pass, given his overall stance on the issue.
"It's probably true of what a lot of folks in Florida feel: that it's really hot and they want to be someplace where it's cool," said Holly Binns, field director of Environment Florida. "The bottom line, as governor, what he's done policy-wise will have a huge impact, a much larger impact than what he does with the air conditioning at the Governor's Mansion."
Tallahassee's Gillman agreed that Crist has sparked new interest in alternative energy and solar panels, and should be given credit for that result.
And Binns said: "As great as it would be if he was doing absolutely everything he could to lead by example ... if he's going to fall down in one place, I'd rather it be where he sets the thermostat than by backtracking on policy initiatives."
To see a video of how Gov. Crist's personal energy use holds up against his rhetoric:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/state /epaper/2007/07/30/m1a_cristenergy_0730.html
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