It’s obscene. A few days ago, the Department of Energy awarded contracts worth $560 million dollars to utilities that have partnered with Silver Springs Networks, a “green” company that specializes in making electrical grids more efficient. So, who cares, right? After all, in an increasingly overpopulated world, energy efficiency is a good thing. Sounds like a smart move on the DOE’s part. But, low and behold, the inconvenient truth of the matter, however, is that one of the major investors in Silver Springs is none other than Al Gore. Coincidence? I don’t think so. The conflict of interest is obvious – in fact, it’s more like a slap in the collective face of America. Think about it. Here’s Gore, proselytizing to the world’s masses about the dangers of global warming at the hands of those pesky carbon molecules yet, all the while, setting himself up to profit. Talk about a “risky scheme.” Only this time, he’s pulled it off. The Silicon Valley investment firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caulfield, and Byers, of which Gore is a partner, invested $75 million dollars in Silver Springs Networks. With the newly secured contracts, Silver Springs now stands to make a killing in the green revolution and, therefore, so does Gore. Of course, Gore has been making a bundle for years hustling the global warming hoax. With the recently released data confirming October 2009 as the third coldest October on record, it seems Good Ole Al’s plans might be stalling. But don’t get your hopes up. In a recent New York Times article, writer John Broder suggested that Gore could become the world’s first “carbon billionaire.” He’s definitely on the right track as his personal wealth has skyrocketed since leaving public office and promoting the global warming hoax fulltime. In fact, Gore recently made a personal investment of $35 million dollars in another investment firm focusing on the “green” industry. Don’t misunderstand me – I embrace the free market system and I don’t think there is one thing wrong with making an honest buck. But therein lies the catch surrounding Gore’s profiteering. He isn’t being honest. The science upon which Gore’s outlandish claims are based has been demonstrated to be at the very least inaccurate if not downright wrong. In fact, the world has been experiencing a general cooling trend since 1998 as demonstrated by hard data, not mere conjecture and speculation. But, when there’s money to be made, literally billions of dollars as in the case of the green industry, Gore isn’t going to let a little thing like the facts stand in the way. He will continue to travel the world in private jets, polluting the environment he claims to defend, while hypocritically investing in firms poised to reap the huge financial benefits of the environmental policies he promotes. When questioned about his choice of investments, Gore said he puts his money where his “heart” is. Hmmm. How nice. In most cases, capitalism is a good thing. The profit motive drives innovation and is one of the major reasons why the United States has grown leaps and bounds over other nations in the last two centuries. All productive Americans want to earn a decent living, enjoy life a little, and maybe even leave a little something behind for their kids. But capitalism has a dark side as well – referred to as vulture capitalism, it is based in greed and is the side of capitalism to which all anti-capitalists from Marx and Lenin to misinformed campus protesters refer when decrying our capitalist way of life. Vulture capitalists are those people anxious to make a profit off another’s misfortunes or those that make money through misrepresentation or lies. The fact that Al Gore is making millions from his distortions of the facts regarding the global climate is not only wrong, but showcases the lengths people will go to satisfy their greed. Gore’s actions are a textbook illustration of vulture capitalism at its worst. ———————————— To contact Spencer, read his blog, or review an archive of his columns, please visit conservativecommentaries.com.
Be First to Comment