Al Gore’s inconvenient truth
posted at 11:10 am on March 2, 2007 by Ian
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I’m currently coffee deprived at CPAC but I don’t need to be wide awake to spot Al Gore’s very convenient loot. I’ll let Dan Riehl explain:
Former Vice President Al Gore has built a Green money-making machine capable of eventually generating billions of dollars for investors, including himself, but he set it up so that the average Joe can’t afford to play on Gore’s terms. And the US portion is headed up by a former Gore staffer and fund raiser who previously ran afoul of both the FEC and the DOJ, before Janet Reno jumped in and shut down an investigation during the Clinton years.
As Bill Hobbs first pointed out, Gore supposedly pays for his extra-large carbon footprint through Generation Investment Management (GIM) - and if you’re looking to go green, and have your wallet go along with Gore, think again - average people are too insignificant to play - verifiable from this pdf.
And what exactly is GIM?
Generation is based in London, with its U.S. offices in Washington, DC. The firm will manage the assets of institutional investors such as pension funds, foundations and endowments, as well as those of select high net worth individuals. Generation expects to make extensive use of long-term performance based fees. Generation will begin its investment management business in early 2005.
Who would be these “high net worth individuals” GIM is talking about? Perhaps the former Vice President who runs a powerhouse? Certainly not an everyday middle class family.
Read the rest of Al Gore’s inconvenient hypocrisy. And here’s an interview about “the Jimmy Swaggart of the environmental movement” on last night’s Jon Caldara radio show with Drew Johnson of the free-market-friendly Tennessee Center for Policy Research. The segment starts within the first two or three minutes. Thanks to Tony from Boulder for the tip.
Update (AP): The possibilities are endless.
My personal favorite offset idea is one I call the Aqua Net Offset. This offset would allow chicks with big hair (and select male news reporters) to pay others not to use aerosol hairspray, thereby offsetting their own excessive consumption. Just consider the impact of the Donald Trump offset alone!
Yet, if America’s press would take some time out of their busy schedules covering the earth-shattering details surrounding Anna Nicole Smith’s demise, they might find a deliciously inconvenient truth about the soon-to-be-Dr. Gore that is significantly more fascinating and diabolical than anything likely to emerge from that courtroom in Broward County, Florida.
How true.
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…before Janet Reno jumped in and shut down an investigation during the Clinton years.
That doesn’t sound like the Janet Reno I know.
No, wait. It does.
saint kansas on March 2, 2007 at 11:24 AM
Or everybody could just stop breathing.
Number 2 on March 2, 2007 at 11:41 AM
Here’s my inconvenient truth for the day for Big Al
http://hazecam.net/burlington/widelarge.html
RightWinged on March 2, 2007 at 11:43 AM
Why am I not surprised that this was all just a con-game?
georgej on March 2, 2007 at 11:53 AM
It is a set up for taxing us silly for being successful, plain and simple.
The socialists never stop trying to free us from our hard-earned cash, and it is people like Hillary, Harry and the like, who scamorama their largesses that lead the pack.
bbz123 on March 2, 2007 at 11:57 AM
Algore may have won that oscar, and is the “champeen of global warming”, but I wonder…
Did he arrive with a full limo? They hold about 10 people. Get about 10 MPG. Output around 16 tons of GHG’s. Did he or any of the other stars “limopool”?
Mazztek on March 2, 2007 at 12:00 PM
Sure he buys these offsets, but where does he buy them from?
From his own company
Esthier on March 2, 2007 at 12:03 PM
Why is anyone surprised? This is the way of the limo liberals everywhere. It is too bad that the MSM has not been exposing this for years. Gore, Streisand, Laurie David are just so very typical of the “do as I say and not as I do” mentality.
Wake up folks!! We have to expose these folks for what they are - arrogant, rich and socialist. There aren’t many liberals who don’t fit this profile. Zell Miller is the only one that comes to mind at the moment.
bjb on March 2, 2007 at 12:10 PM
I saw this yesterday and laughed out loud. Buying from himself… Priceless.
High Desert Wanderer on March 2, 2007 at 12:11 PM
Why stop at offsets, there is a bridge in Brooklyn for sale.
infidel on March 2, 2007 at 12:12 PM
My personal favorite offset is the “third-world repressor” offset. This offset allows me, as a right wing capitalist white American, to use those resources that I have prevented the worlds’ squalor from using by keeping them poor and out of gas burning vehicles and air conditioned homes.
I think the Warmists would agree that if the third worlders had been brought up to the same quality of life that Americans have enjoyed, the earth would have been made uninhabitable by now.
Perchant on March 2, 2007 at 12:14 PM
This is just getting better and better.
let me get this straight: He uses whatever energy he wants, pays himself some money, convinces others to give him money for their overuse, so he can use more energy to tell others not to use energy…all the while making profit (and making big bucks on speaking engagments) on a company that can’t prove they can do what they say they can do. And the left considers him a hero for doing this.
He’s a f***ing genius.
He wakes up now and says “thank God I lost”.
right2bright on March 2, 2007 at 12:22 PM
I think everyone has it just a little bit wrong. Yes, carbon offsets are a sham. However, if you pay Al gore’s company for carbon offsets, Al Gore then turns around and buys more stock in the following companies:
He has a food company, a food distribution company, an agriculture company, and a major energy/media company. And, according to the listing, Gore already has hundreds of thousands of shares, representing a major voting stake in these companies. As such, he gets to help dictate how the company will operate.
Is buying carbon offsets just a way for the greens to infiltrate big business and force them to conform to liberal agendas and ideals? I think it is.
BelchSpeak on March 2, 2007 at 12:25 PM
I will give “not breathing” all due consideration…. if Al Gore goes first !!!
Maxx on March 2, 2007 at 12:26 PM
Global Warming in a nut shell…….. (don’t look behind the curtain):
PinkyBigglesworth on March 2, 2007 at 12:28 PM
I don’t think that Gore is actually “buying” carbon offsets. He is the Chairman of Generation Investment Management. That’s an investment manager to hedge funds, and what it probably does is invest in eco-friendly companies. Those companies then take the money from those stock investments and use it to plant trees and stuff (only worthwhile if you’re going to salvage the trees for paper or other purposes later on). It makes no sense for a fund to invest in companies spending money to plant trees, unless the company is PAID to plant trees. Hence, “carbon offsets” - aka: cash flow.
A hedge fund works like a regular mutual fund, but is only for rich investors. I wouldn’t get hung up on the rich ivestor part. A mutual fund could do the same thing, but it’d be subject to a lot more regulation and scrutinty, which Gore avoids as a hedge fund manager. The hedge fund only makes money if the companies it invests in make money. So for the eco-friendly companies to make money, there has to be value in the idea of planting trees and stuff. But how can anyone make money planting trees? If you salvage them, that’s one way. But another way is if people PAY you to plant trees - hence, the idea of carbon offsets. Gore only makes money if the idea of carbon offsets is accepted by many people, because otherwise the companies his hedge fund invests in wouldn’t turn a profit, and the hedge fund would make no money, and Gore’s investment management business would soon be broke.
This idea about buying carbon offsets has nothing to do with being eco-friendly. It’s just a way to make sure the companies his hedge funds invest in make money, so his hedge fund can make money. This will make Gore a multi-millionare. Hedge fund managers are among the richest people in the WORLD. Ask George Soros.
Sydney Carton on March 2, 2007 at 12:38 PM
I understand Mars is experiencing global warming also, maybe we can send Al Gore there to fix their problems.
Sven on March 2, 2007 at 12:38 PM
Belchspeak,
You’re half right. It’s not about Gore telling the companies how to operate. It’s about his investment management business making a lot of money by ensuring that those companies have steady cash flow. Those companies that his funds invest in are sold to Mom and Pop America as “clean” companies, in the hope that they’ll be given more business, and hence, his fund will make more of a profit becase his funds are investors in those companies. This has nothing to do with Gore “buying” from himself. It has everything to do with convincing Mom and Pop America to buy carbon offsets from companies, or to solicit only “clean” businesses that Gore’s hedge fund just happens to own, so he can make a nice profit. Selling carbon offsets is just another product that Gore happens to have a stake in.
Sydney Carton on March 2, 2007 at 12:43 PM
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/02/070228-mars-warming.html
Sven on March 2, 2007 at 12:44 PM
Actually he is buying from his own company. The trees are reported to be for “cleaning” the air of CO2, hence they should not be cut down.
And it is accepted by many people, that is why he is traipsing around the globe.
You are correct in saying there is no money in planting trees, good call. That moves the idea into the “Ponzi scheme” scenerio, which is illegal.
right2bright on March 2, 2007 at 12:45 PM
I’m actually still waiting for proof that any of these companies are planting trees. For the huge forests they must plant for these carbon offsets a huge amount of land is required and I want proof of the land purchased, seedlings planted and tended etc. For these companies to sell the so called carbon offsets from the trees the companies must own the trees and have ownership or at least long term leases on the land they grow on or this scam may be very close to the surface.
Buzzy on March 2, 2007 at 12:58 PM
http://www.oism.org/pproject/s33p357.htm
Yep… cause we all know the scientific debate is over!
Romeo13 on March 2, 2007 at 1:02 PM
Buzzy,
It doesn’t matter if the companies plant the trees or not. It only matters if people PAY them to plant the trees.
Let me sum up why this information is so damaging to Gore. This information basically confirms that Gore has been marketing Global Warming as a way to convince people to buy carbon offsets or solicit from eco-friendly companies, all of which Gore’s hedge fund has a stake in. The Securities and Exchange Commission forms don’t lie, even though Gore might. There is no way to rebut these facts:
1. Gore’s hedge fund invests in “eco-friendly” companies.
2. Gore has been flying around the world telling everyone to use eco-friendly things that those companies make, or to buy “carbon offsets” from those “eco-friendly” companies.
3. When people buy carbon offsets or shop at Whole Foods (as an example), those companies selling the carbon offsets, or Whole Foods, make money. Gore’s hedge fund, as an investor, gets a part of that profit.
4. Gore ALSO makes money because he’s Chairman of the investment manager to his hedge fund, which probably takes a 2.00% management fee plus a performance fee of 20% or so (standard in the hedge fund industry).
These facts basically confirm that Gore is a snake-oil salesman.
Sydney Carton on March 2, 2007 at 1:03 PM
Gotta love the Tancredo banner ad at the top.
Hopefully that’s enough to throw this in:
http://news.tradingcharts.com/futures/7/1/90017117.html
Gregor on March 2, 2007 at 1:14 PM
Well boys and girls, at least we have all learned a valuable lesson from this, which is: …. how to buy a carbon offset.
Watch carefully as I demonstrate. I have a twenty dollars bill in my left pocket….. I take it out…. and put it in my right pocket. Transaction complete ! See, buying carbon offsets is much easier than you thought !
Maxx on March 2, 2007 at 1:15 PM
Are we talking about real money or monopoly money?
Kini on March 2, 2007 at 1:28 PM
At least he is investing in “eco-friendly” companies, I am willing to give him credit for that. But the whole carbon-offsets thing is balderdash to say the least.
It fits the whole socialist mentality though. Only an evil capitalist would think that money should be made by providing goods and services to consumers at high value and a fair price. Far better to get people to give you money without having to do anything to earn it (such as through taxes or carbon-offset scams).
Lancer on March 2, 2007 at 1:28 PM
At least Gore invests in “eco-friendly” companies, I will give him credit for that. But the whole carbon-offsets idea is balderdash to say the least.
It fits the whole socialist mentality, though. Only an evil capitalist would consider earning money by providing goods and services to willing consumers at a high value and a fair price. Far better to get them to give you their money without having to work earn it (such as with taxes or carbon-offset scams).
Lancer on March 2, 2007 at 1:32 PM
They are not planting trees, that is the point. It is for future “offsets” that is why they cannot determine the “offset”.
As Wimpy said:
or the bumper sticker on a car: (name of bar) Free beer tomorrow.
Like most liberal ideas, they are undefinable.
right2bright on March 2, 2007 at 2:06 PM
No wonder he said that he’ll never run for office again. He saw the unlimited potential of Capitalism and life is good, way better than worrying himself old over terrrorism and other world/local matters.
The biggest hypocrisy is their preaching modesty, anti-capitalism, reduced consumption to all others, anti-Americanism, anti-production, etc. while they stuff their pockets with all of it. Ah, the wine is expensive and good, and Messrs Soros and Gore:
This is scary and looks so familiar with the Jesse Jackson anti-corporation tactics of the last few years.
AP, watch out - Mr. Trump:
Entelechy on March 2, 2007 at 2:09 PM
Also, this is too sophisticated a theme for the media to look into and get a detailed explanation out to the public. Plus, they don’t have the will. It goes against their “Gore as planet-saviour” theme.
Does this need investigating? If not, can we not put our heads together to come up with something similar and become the HA genius rich kids? We can ’save the planet’ from something…
Entelechy on March 2, 2007 at 2:12 PM
Didn’t Algore cover this in his acceptance speech?
NTWR on March 2, 2007 at 2:22 PM
And guess who’s house this is?
The 4,000-square-foot house is a model of environmental rectitude
Geothermal heat pumps located in a central closet circulate water through pipes buried 300 feet deep in the ground where the temperature is a constant 67 degrees; the water heats the house in the winter and cools it in the summer. Systems such as the one in this “eco-friendly” dwelling use about 25% of the electricity that traditional heating and cooling systems utilize.
A 25,000-gallon underground cistern collects rainwater gathered from roof runs; wastewater from sinks, toilets and showers goes into underground purifying tanks and is also funneled into the cistern. The water from the cistern is used to irrigate the landscaping surrounding the four-bedroom home. Plants and flowers native to the high prairie area blend the structure into the surrounding ecosystem.
No, this is not the home of some eccentrically wealthy eco-freak trying to shame his fellow citizens into following the pristineness of his self-righteous example. And no, it is not the wilderness retreat of the Sierra Club or the Natural Resources Defense Council, a haven where tree-huggers plot political strategy.
Go figure, eh?
LissaKay on March 2, 2007 at 3:45 PM
LissaKay, calling the Nobel Peace committee… :)
Entelechy on March 2, 2007 at 3:58 PM
I’m thinking that a website could be built around the theme of displaying the difference between what the “limosine Left” demand and the way they live.
Kralizec on March 2, 2007 at 4:05 PM
Y’all need to check out Sven’s link from National Geographic that he posted at 12:44 PM:
Mars Melt Hints at Solar, Not Human, Cause for Warming, Scientist Says
It goes on to say:
:-)!
INC on March 2, 2007 at 4:12 PM
Ian… there is no link to a pdf.
Maxx on March 2, 2007 at 4:26 PM
Wow I’m amazed by the article on Bush’s Texas house. After describing how eco friendly it is the author is then perplexed and spends the rest of the article trying (and failing) to come up with some way to explain that bush is actually against the enviornment.
Resolute on March 2, 2007 at 8:19 PM
Aerosols, namely CFCs do not nor can they harm the ozone layer, or even This Ozone for that matter.
CO2 is a heavy gas, heavier than O2 or N2. CO2 falls to the floor. CFCs are even heavier than that and not just a little, but a lot lot heavier. There is absolutly no way (save The F.. I mean John Edwards in space) could they travel up through the various atmopheric layers to make it to the Ozone layer to break it down.
- The Cat
P.S. The why they came up with it is another story
MirCat on March 3, 2007 at 1:26 AM