Is Al Gore Only in this "Green" Business for the Money?

[LAGC]

Al Gore may become world's first carbon billionaire
Last updated on: November 03, 2009 15:18 IST

http://business.rediff.com/report/2009/nov/03/al-gore-may-become-worlds-first-carbon-billionaire.htm

Former US Vice President could become the world's first carbon billionaire following his investments in green energy companies after anticipating the need to reinvent the way the world produces and consumes energy.

Gore's venture capital company has been investing to develop energy-saving technologies, which could make electricity grids more efficient.

Last year, they had loaned a California firm, Silver Spring Networks, $75 million to produce hardware and software to improve electricity grid efficiency.

The deal appeared to pay off in a big way last week, when the Energy Department announced $3.4 billion in smart grid grants and of the total, more than $560 million went to utilities with which Silver Spring has contracts, The Telegraph reports.

The move means that Gore's venture capital firm -- Kleiner Perkins -- and its partners could recover their investment many times over in coming years.

Makes you wonder...

[n2doc]

1. Why doesn't anyone ask if Cheney only was in the War business for the money?

Gore might be doing well by doing good. Far better than the alternative.

[Gman]

2. Why is that a bad thing?

[LAGC]

6. Its not a bad thing, I just question his motives.

I was always skeptical of Gore during the 2000 Election, I thought he was a weak candidate and it didn't surprise me that he lost to Shrub that year considering how moderate he was and his open stance in support of gun control. I just wonder how much of his interest in green technology is heart-felt, and how much of it is personal profit motive, that's all.

[BeFree]

16. Skeptical of Gore?

He won the true election. Had he been it for the money he would have busted it wide open.
Instead for the good of the country he laid low hoping justice would prevail.

Now his vision is helping him recoup some personal losses and you deign to wonder about his motives?
Maybe he could make you happy if he just went away and lived in a cave?

[LAGC]

23. The bottom line is: the 2000 election shouldn't have even been close.

It shouldn't have been up to Florida to decide the damn thing, and Gore's weakness contributed to this. He wasn't a strong candidate to begin with, and his wishy-washy ways led to the situation where defeat was inevitable, even though he did win the popular vote. I just thought we could have done so much better in that election with a decent candidate, and could have avoided 8 horrible Bush years.

[BeFree]

26. Well

Gore really won by several million votes and given that the media trashed him at every turn and built up bush at the same time.....

But hey... you are forgiven. The M$M has screwed lots of folks and you must be one of them.
It's really not your fault.

But to carry on here, still, in the way you are, is asking an awful lot.
Don't you have some real problems that concern you?
Don't you have real enemies?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

27. just for shits and giggles...Who would have been better than Gore

in your opinion.

[LAGC]

38. I think Bill Bradley would have made a difference.

He was to the left of Gore, could have pulled back in some of those disenfranchised Nader voters, and unified the Party come November of that year.

But Gore was chosen simply because he was Vice President under Clinton, and the rest is history.

[blm]

33. 2000 was set up to lose long before election day. The DNC collapsed party infrastructure in states

that were crucial to any electoral victory - not just Florida, but, also in Ohio.

It shouldn't have been close, and Florida wasn't the only state stolen. By 2000 the DNC allowed the RNC to gain control of every level of the election process where the votes are allowed, cast and counted. It only worsened during McAuliffe's stewardship from 2001-2005.

Thank the DNC as run by Clinton and his pals from 1993-Jan2005. They oversaw the collapse of party infrastructure in some states they knew were crucial. But then, they weren't interested in Dems winning 2000, 2002 or 2004 - they were looking to THEIR next campaign, Hillary2008.

[kestrel91316]

39. What does that have to do with how he makes his money??

[trumad]

17. Ugg

Right now I'm very skeptical of you and your brain power or lack of...

[blm]

21. Except Gore has been pushing for environmental awareness and investment since the mid70s

along with John Kerry who joined with enviros in early 70s.

Why would you NOT EXPECT a Gore or Kerry (longtime leaders in calling for government and industry to invest in changes and businesses that would protect environment) to lead the way by EXAMPLE and investing in these businesses themselves?

[bananas]

29. Yup - after he was pushed out of politics, he started investing in green tech

He's making wise investments because of the years he's spent investigating these technologies.

[blm]

32. Exactly - why NOT put HIS money where his mouth is? Should he NOT lead by example?

This article posted by the OP is really obtuse. Imagine if Gore refused to invest in green technology. Then the article would complain that he calls for investments he won't make himself.

[Ineeda]

28. Duh, he didn't 'lose' the election. It was stolen from him - and us. n/t

[Winterblues]

31. Maybe if you did just a tiny bit of research on Gore you would know his motives..

Then your posts would not come off as uneducated..

[NoSheep]

35. His motives may save the planet.

[Gman]

45. Gore did not lose in 2000.

It doesn't matter if his interest in green technology is heart-felt or not. The fact of the matter is that he is right and that's the important thing. So it's a subject he is a well-versed expert on. Why fault him for making money on something he knows something about? I don't remember anyone doubting the CEO of Goldman Sachs having a heartfelt interest in finance.

And Florida and 2000 have nothing to do with any of this.

[SammyWinstonJack]

49. Lost? LOL!

:rofl: Nice try! :silly:

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[LAGC]

11. Search my posts, I'm no troll.

And I'm a contributor, but I guess that doesn't count as much does it?

But thank you for suggesting as much.

[CTD]

15. WTF?

I despise this clubby attitude where the motives of anyone with less than 1000 posts is called into question.

Some of us don't live here - we have jobs and real-world lives.

It doesn't make our opinions any less valuable.

And god forbid a <1000 post member voices an opinion that runs counter to the DU prevailing conventional wisdom.

[wtmusic]

19. I despise the insinuation that I don't have a job and a real-world life

*slaps CTD's face with pair of pressed white gloves*

How's work going today? Since you seem to have a spare moment, you two might want to read up on Al Gore's stellar environmental record, and his um, Nobel Peace Prize.

But maybe he just gamed that for the money.

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

[CTD]

22. I'm a fan of Gore's. Just cut the post count elitism.

It reflects poorly on everyone here.

Disagree with someone's post, fine.

But it's lame to call them a troll because they *only* have, like, 600 posts.

[trumad]

20. It ain't the fucking post count...

it's the idiot who posted such tripe.

[kestrel91316]

40. I have my own business and life, and yet I manage to post here quite a lot, lol.

Typical RW stereotyping of Dems, I see.

You enjoy your stay, too.

[Neecy]

4. ummm......

He's funding new technologies that we desperately need in this country. If he makes a profit from it, more power to him. But I doubt that's his primary motivation.

[spanone]

5. bullshit post

[malaise]

8. +1

Rubbish

[Tesha]

7. No. (NT)

[Dora]

9. Why is that a problem?

Profit is not a crime. The problem with profit is those people who keep more than they can use, more than their fair share.

Al Gore is a wealthy man and a philanthropist. He works for his money, and he makes his money work for the common good. I have no quibbles with someone who makes a lot of money.

[JNelson6563]

10. I see they let just anyone in here nowadays.

Distressing.

[opihimoimoi]

12. This is Negativity...bad....disquised as a question...typ Pub Trick...

Sad

[tyne]

13. I swear

sometimes going to DU is like going to freeper light.

[Taverner]

14. Better that hes into green for green rather than into blood red for green

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

18. Hey! Al offered us his services and the Supreme Court denied them for the rest of us

Al Gore is a smart guy. I'm not the least surprised that he was able to take the long view about the environment (he wrote The Earth in Balance, after all) and do something financially lucrative about it. Good for him, I hope he earns enough to to enable him to buy Halliburton and turn it into a chocolate manufactuer and to buy Xe and turn them into consultants for the high school marching band industry. Then I hope that he has enough left over to make sure that there remains a liberal media outlet after everything else is taken over by Fox and Rush.

It's nice to see a good guy make money. I just hope he spreads it around with some good causes.

[Kansas Wyatt]

24. He invested in what he believes in.

It made him a lot of money.

That is a hell of a lot better than what those other ex-politicians (money whores) do.

[JonQ]

25. Looking in to the objectivity

ie, where the money comes from, is always a valid concern for any activist.

I imagine if gore were saying global warming is not manmade (and also happened to own millions of dollars of exxon stock) people would be doing the same thing.

I hate this mentality: the other side, all corrupt and evil everything they do is some conspiracy to do wicked things. Our side, 100% saintly with no ill-motives, acting entirely saintly all the time. All of human history would suggest that is never the case.

[The2ndWheel]

30. Who isn't?

"The world is a business Mr. Beale. Has been since man crawled out of the slime."

We live in an economic system, not an environment. Can't have both.

[earth mom]

34. Who in the hell else is putting everything they've got financially into green technology?

Is Obama, Oprah, or the Clintons etc?

Gore is putting his money where his mouth is and that's a damn good thing! Go Al!!! :yourock:



BTW-Do you even give a damn about global warming? Or do you think it's all a hoax like so many freepers do? :eyes:

[LAGC]

36. I believe the Earth is warming...

According to NASA's projections... but I'm just not so sure how much of the phenomenon is human-caused versus just part of the natural cycle, how we go from Ice Age to warm spells every 20,000 years or so, in a cycle. Maybe I've been frequenting too many skeptic sites, but I think science still has a lot to prove in this area...

[earth mom]

42. So you are a GLOBAL WARMING DENIER. Why am I not surprised?

:eyes:

p.s. UNREC.

[LAGC]

44. I'm not a DENIER, I'm a skeptic.

Like I said, I think the evidence is clear that the Earth is warming, but the evidence is less clear as to what is truly causing it.

I just don't know that all these measures to limit carbon emissions will really make much of a dent in the phenomenon, if there are other (natural) causes at work.

I still think moves towards energy efficiency are a good idea just to cut down on the amount of natural resources we consume, but I'm not so sure a carbon tax is a good idea, considering it will hurt the poor who can least afford it the most.

[earth mom]

47. Scientists the world over believe the earth is warming because of carbon emissions.

The evidence is there.

You are ignoring the facts for whatever reasons that suit your own purposes and I find that unconscionable.

[blm]

48. Post attack on Gore based on YOU not being sure, but, most every credible scientist IS SURE

and you want US to join you in your disregard for Gore AND for sound science?

Sheesh.

[kestrel91316]

37. Did it ever occur to your tiny freeper brain that he just happened to make

a lot of money, and deservedly so, pursuing his life's passion, which also just happens to be a worthy social cause?????

Enjoy your stay.

[Vickers]

41. I think it's called "Putting your money where your mouth is"

:eyes:

[Hannah Bell]

43. yes.

[JackRiddler]

46. Is "Only" the operative word in your question?

Because obviously he's in it for the money.