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Mar. 4, 2007 A wise person told me some time ago, when seeking out the motivation for the actions of many individuals all it takes is to simply "follow the money". Now, I am a complete free market capitalist and I continue to believe it is the best economic system under the sun. Capitalism has brought much good not only to the United States but to the world overall. The profit motive drives innovation and advancement in everything from medicine to machinery to food production and I am all for it. There is a problem, however, with someone who places himself in morally superior position, using his money, power and influence as a lifetime politician to shed light on a supposed ecological catastrophe in the making while positioning himself to profit immensely from the very issue he is pushing. Last week, it was pointed out that Al Gore does not seem to apply the very principles of conservation and minimalization to his own life that he is openly demanding from the rest of us. Now, a report has surfaced, http://www.riehlworldview.com/carnivorous_conservative/2007/03/al_gores_inconv.html , which indicates that Gore is in a position to reap significant financial rewards from actions undertaken to battle global warming. Perhaps there is nothing illegal in any of this, but one has to wonder if Gore's heart is really in this matter or if he is operating for even more personal (financial) reasons. It appears that Al Gore helped found a company called Generation Investment Management (GIM) approximately three years ago. This company, which Gore remains as Chairman, is a vehicle through which Gore and others pay for "carbon offsets". The firm, in turn, invests in alternative energy sources, such as solar and wind power, to ostensibly help keep total carbon emissions in check. As an equity owner in this firm, Gore is essentially buying offsets from himself. If he is successful at convincing others to do the same, the value of his investment has no limits. So, Al Gore can and will personally profit to a significant degree based upon the number of people who buy into the global warming hypothesis and seek out offsets and alternative energy sources through GIM. The above-referenced article, in fact, states that according to GIM's own documents, "GIM intends to invest in, or buy companies poised to cash in on Global Warming concerns." Even if Al Gore's intentions are completely pure and innocent, which is highly questionable, the link between his own pocketbook and the world's global warming fear represents a distinct conflict of interest. What's more, there appears to be little interest by most of the press as to Gore's ownership in GIM and how this relationship could impact any global warming message. President Bush and Dick Cheney have been investigated up one side and down the other for their ties to the oil industry and Halliburton and any potential "war profiteering" which may have resulted from Iraq. The media has speculated endlessly about Halliburton in particular, and perhaps rightly so given the connection. So where is the interest in Al Gore's background and business relationships? Planned war profiteering is certainly nothing desirable; is environmental profiteering any better? This is not to question Al Gore's freedom to pursue profit; he surely has already made millions from his movie.
The whole endeavor with GIM appears, though, to be very unwise at best and a potential red flag for something more underhanded at worst. Even more, Gore has inserted an individual, Peter Knight, who has a shady past with regard to lobbying and fund raising activity, as head of the U.S. operations of GIM. According to this article, Mr. Knight, "...has been the subject of a Federal Election Commission investigation, a Justice Department inquiry and two House Commerce Committee probes." There is question as to how $20,000 in stock turned up in Mr. Knight's child's account back when Knight was the Clinton-Gore campaign chairman. Again, perhaps, Mr. Knight has done nothing wrong in all of this, but why select an individual with this background to lead what is essentially an organization that is supposed to have an altruistic cause behind it? None of this makes Al Gore's cause any more legitimate. Instead, it casts a murky haze over his entire agenda. Is Gore nothing more than one of the profiteering capitalists he and his supporters appear to detest? There is nothing wrong with chasing a buck, but this man is demanding that much of middle America make significant sacrifices in lifestyle and even our own financial health, while it appear he stands to rake in multi-millions of dollars or more. Mr. Gore many of your critics charge that you and your agenda are fraught with hypocrisy and inconsistencies. Why give them so much more ammunition?
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