Al Gore’s Carbon Crusade: Why It’s Winning

The November 26 issue of Fortune Magazine reports on Al Gore’s latest money-making venture. The Fortune story is a duller version of CRC’s August Foundation Watch, which examined the money and connections to Goldman Sachs that are behind Gore’s effort to promote investment in “green” technologies. Fortune adds details about the recent hook-up of Gore’s Generation Investment Management to the Silicon valley venture capital firm Kleiner-Perkins. But you’d hardly guess that the advocates of environmental capitalism intend to profit by having government outlaw their competition.

Only in the next to last paragraph of the article is there the slightest recognition that markets determine tbe best providers of energy. Gore finds this disturbing:

Toward the end of the meeting at Kleiner’s offices with Ausra, the solar thermal company, one of the executives starts to boast that the plants Ausra is building will thrash nuclear, geothermal, clean coal, and photovoltaic solar solutions. Gore cuts in, a mildly alarmed look on his face. “You know, all of these technologies are going to play a role,” he says. “I hate to see you assassinate the competition as a key messaging point.