# Al Gore the Scam Artist **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 30, 2010, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879 "2010-04-30T16:13:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Todderbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@Todderbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Todderbob)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/41 "2010-04-30T18:13:01Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Really? Previously you cared about environmentalism because you wanted to please the former Vice President, and now he bought a big house and so you want to destroy the planet out of spite? > > Frankly, I think the problem is you’re way too into Al Gore. Maaaaaan crush. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/42 "2010-04-30T18:19:43Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > In addition to his carbon credits scam, Gore also has experience in swindling investors (mostly the US taxpayers). He was involved with a firm call “Molten Metals Technologies”-it was a firm started by a guy in Boston, who claimed he had a process to destroy all toxic waste chemicals. The ide was that you pour the stuff (that you wanted to get rid of) into a furnace containing super hot molten iron. > The initial reports were so promising that Gore arrange for the US DOE to front the firm money. > How did it end? The process didn’t work, the firm went bust, and Al Gore sold his stake before the bad news went out. > Of course, nobody lost..except the US taxpayers-“f\*\*k em!”:eek: If all you’re going to do is continue to throw shit at the wall hoping that some of it will stick, realize that all we are seeing is you with fistfuls of crap. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/43 "2010-04-30T18:20:57Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > If anyone else is wondering about the tale of the tape on that encounter: Gore is 6’1," Miller is about 5’9." That’s a big edge to Gore, even though he’s is 62 and Miller is 56. I think we can spot Gore a significant weight advantage, too. I mention this just in case Jordano’s is wondering whether to open a betting line or what to do with their security people if both these guys show up at the same time. I get the feeling that Miller is just a douchey windbag who will be all “nice to meet you Al” in person then say “I went all mideval on Al’s ass 'cause that’s how awesome I am” when he gets in front of whatever tv camera is later aimed at him. ---
**Author:** ![heatmiserfl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df705f/32.png) [@heatmiserfl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heatmiserfl)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/44 "2010-04-30T18:30:58Z")
> [@randy054](#): > > I watched An Inconvenient Truth a few years back with a friend and thought Al was really sincere in regards to Global Warming. You know what? I don’t think you watched An Inconvenient Truth or you missed the end or you didn’t understand the point. To be taken seriously, you may want to try watching the movie again. (hint: we don’t have to live in caves) Anway, as RNATB states, he is likely buying a pre-owned home. As long as he conserves within the home, how is this hypocritical? BTW, people had a big fit about him living in a big home currently even though he was outfitting it with solar panels, etc. Still wasn’t good enough. And as others have said over and over and fucking over again, how does Al Gore being a hypocrite change facts about global warming? (waiting for some goofball to come in with cites from people associated with the fossil fuel industry, or other goofballs with the old climate scientist email ‘scandal’ where mathematicians did a mathematical ‘trick’ proving that global warming is a hoax) ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/45 "2010-04-30T18:35:50Z")
Al Gore is the personable frontman for a whooooole lot of un-photogenic scientists; I’m not really expecting a lot more from him than that. Sure, it would be nice if he and all the rich fatcats in the world stopped over-consuming, but I’m not going to hold my breath and have a temper tantrum over it. As far as that goes, every single person who posts on this board is a relative fatcat; how many of us are going to sell our homes and move out of our nice apartments and start living the simple life? ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/46 "2010-04-30T18:54:28Z")
> [@randy054](#): > > Considering that 20% own the majority of the wealth in this country 84%, and by extension, resouces, they also pollute the most then. Fom Merriam-Webster: [non sequitur](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/non%20sequitur) Main Entry: non se·qui·tur Pronunciation: \ˈnän-ˈse-kwə-tər also -ˌtu̇r Function: noun Etymology: Latin, it does not follow Date: 1540 1 : an inference that does not follow from the premises; specifically : a fallacy resulting from a simple conversion of a universal affirmative proposition or from the transposition of a condition and its consequent 2 : a statement (as a response) that does not follow logically from or is not clearly related to anything previously said ---
**Author:** ![ivn1188](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e480ec/32.png) [@ivn1188](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivn1188)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/47 "2010-04-30T19:02:50Z")
Here’s a thought for you: Your “carbon footprint”, or Gore’s “carbon footprint”, or these saintly Indian “carbon footprints”? Meaningless. If you get every single person in America to reduce their personal consumption by 50% you’ll end up with about a 2% drop for the national total. All of these silly little things like unplugging your cell phone charger or using Blackle are sops to people’s conscience, meaningless, almost superstitious acts that allow people to feel good about themselves. Same thing goes with global warming. There’s some good evidence for it, and some decent evidence against. But the science and the math are hard. It’s easier just to pick the side that makes you feel the best about yourself, and then defend that side to the death – after all, it’s a demonstrated element of human psychology that we feel much more positive about a decision, stance, or belief the instant after we adopt it. Carbon footprints are a silly idea in regards to environmental science. But they are a fantastic marketing tool for simplifying a complex idea into a simple one. And this outrage over hypocrisy is also misplaced. It’s like complaining that I drove 6 blocks instead of riding my bike 6 blocks, when I was on the way to clean up a burning PCB-laden oil spill in an endangered wildlife preserve. It’s both logically irrelevant to the environmental issue and highly out of proportion. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/48 "2010-04-30T19:21:19Z")
> [@ivn1188](#): > > …Same thing goes with global warming. There’s some good evidence for it, and some decent evidence against… Bring. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/49 "2010-04-30T20:00:38Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Bring. Haven’t you learned better than to ask that by now? This will now become a 6-page thread and half the posts will be from **brazil84.** ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/50 "2010-04-30T20:17:05Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Bring. Nooooooooooooooooooooo!!! Another perfectly good Pit thread ruined. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/51 "2010-04-30T20:25:24Z")
Really? I’m no fan of Al Gore’s, and I think a lot of what he’s selling is fear rather than facts, but even if he’s got the largest carbon footprint in the world, that may make him a hypocrite, but it doesn’t mean his message is meaningless. And I know this is probably going to devolve into a global warming thread. You want to know the truth about global warming? It doesn’t matter. If you need to be scared into believing that the world is going to become an oven to be a little more conscious about how your actions affect others, well, whatever floats your boat. Even if it’s pure hogwash, the idea of not wanting to breath nasty air, drink nasty water, or pollute our environment should be enough. People being obsessive about turning off their lights when they leave a room and unplugging things when they’re not using them isn’t going to save the environment anymore than the people that drive 2 blocks when they could have walked them. Why does environmentalism always have to boil down into either “OMG, Global Warming is Real, we won’t survive another 50 years” or “Global Warming is a Tree-Hugging conspiracy”? Stop this obnoxious debate about the science of it, and just agree that we could probably do to pollute the planet less, and even if it does absolutely nothing to change the climate, we’re still living in a cleaner environment. ---
**Author:** ![ivn1188](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e480ec/32.png) [@ivn1188](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivn1188)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/52 "2010-04-30T21:19:08Z")
> [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > Really? I’m no fan of Al Gore’s, and I think a lot of what he’s selling is fear rather than facts, but even if he’s got the largest carbon footprint in the world, that may make him a hypocrite, but it doesn’t mean his message is meaningless. > > And I know this is probably going to devolve into a global warming thread. You want to know the truth about global warming? It doesn’t matter. If you need to be scared into believing that the world is going to become an oven to be a little more conscious about how your actions affect others, well, whatever floats your boat. Even if it’s pure hogwash, the idea of not wanting to breath nasty air, drink nasty water, or pollute our environment should be enough. People being obsessive about turning off their lights when they leave a room and unplugging things when they’re not using them isn’t going to save the environment anymore than the people that drive 2 blocks when they could have walked them. > > Why does environmentalism always have to boil down into either “OMG, Global Warming is Real, we won’t survive another 50 years” or “Global Warming is a Tree-Hugging conspiracy”? Stop this obnoxious debate about the science of it, and just agree that we could probably do to pollute the planet less, and even if it does absolutely nothing to change the climate, we’re still living in a cleaner environment. This is exactly why I won’t “bring”. It’s fucking obnoxious, especially when there is a wealth of literature, both scientific and otherwise, about the subject. I’m also not interested in hearing some doofus on a message board “debunk” scientific evidence, when there are plenty of people who do this sort of thing for a living sharing their thoughts. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/53 "2010-04-30T21:22:34Z")
I’d like to see some backup for the claim that carbon credits are a scam. Which one of the following is false: – It is possible to mitigate carbon dioxide pollution through various means (for instance, planting a sustainable forest which will permanently lock in more carbon as long as it lives. Just off the top of my head.) – Doing these things cost money. – Paying money for “carbon offsets” goes toward these strategies. If these things would not get done without money, and you provide this money, and they really do offset carbon emissions, then they are carbon offsets. There is surely a limited number of them possible before we run into limited returns (e.g. run out of land, in my example above,) and surely there is a possibility that they are not vetted very well like the subprime mortgage fiasco, but surely carbon offsets are not impossible at face value. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2010, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/54 "2010-05-01T00:56:41Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > And, in one of the views from the house, the ocean is pretty far away. I don’t think a sea level rise of 20 feet will touch the property. It just brings the oceanfront closer! ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2010, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/55 "2010-05-01T05:50:57Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > It just brings the oceanfront closer! Where the spilled oil can get you! ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2010, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/56 "2010-05-01T14:33:06Z")
This is why, no matter how much global warming is caused by humans, nothing can be done about it. All the proponents, not matter how vehement, want all the sacrifices to be made by Somebody Else. Hollywood people claim the government should care for everybody and then hire tax attorneys to find loopholes. ACORN lobbies for “living wage” and pays its people less than minimum wage. People go to environmental rallies and throw trash on the ground. Bill Bennett talks about thrift and gambles away millions. Mods talk about how any topic is fair game and then warn you for trolling if you say anything embarassing about Planned Parenthood. Hell, I thought the tax rebate under Bush was stupid but I still took the money. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2010, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/57 "2010-05-01T21:24:24Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > This is why, no matter how much global warming is caused by humans, nothing can be done about it. All the proponents, not matter how vehement, want all the sacrifices to be made by Somebody Else. I am a proponent and I personally don’t want sacrifices to be made by anybody. So your “all” qualifier fails. In fact it likely fails with most proponents, since the ones that want people to make sacrifices, usually do make them themselves. I do not believe that Al Gore is one of those preaching unreasonable sacrifices; therefore, I don’t expect him to make them. If a sacrifice absolutely be made, it should be made by everybody all over the planet, but I don’t think they have to be made at all. We need to invest in cleaner energy, and lower energy technology. That’s not a sacrifice by anybody. In fact, it creates technology jobs and industry that ultimately we need to keep ourselves at the top. Government investment is really the only way that technology is developed, all the way from the microchip to modern conductors. ---
**Author:** ![pinkyvee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6de8d8/32.png) [@pinkyvee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkyvee)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/58 "2010-05-01T21:47:22Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > My Googling suggests that [this](http://www.phototourwebsites.com/websites/primaluceflash/) is his new house. I know this house! In 2000, this home was owned by James Zaleski, president of Vetronix. It was the “south american drug lord” mansion, in the 2000 version of the movie Bedazzled. ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/I7wpVi_8cl0/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/I7wpVi_8cl0?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque I wonder if Al Gore knows? ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2010, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/59 "2010-05-01T21:59:38Z")
> [@randy054](#): > > It does not even matter if it is at ocean level or not in regards to his carbon footprint. Perhaps it does to his claim on ocean levels rising. > > Point being, if he does not mind destroying the earth then why should I care. He is the one peddling his bullshit and should be setting an example. > Fuck it. > > From now on, I am going to do everything in my power to destroy the earth and maybe, I can reach his level. > All plastics go in the ditches, garbage bags, ocean etc. I’ll dump all my motor oil down the sinks, gutters, into the ground etc. Of course, I’m only one person and my attempts woul be futile compared to a major corporation. I hope a few nuclear stations blow up and radiate the earth. > Fuck it It’s pretty sad that you rely on his behavior to determine your own. ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2010, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/60 "2010-05-01T23:21:09Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > But he bought carbon offsets. They’re the new indulgences… > > Seriously, though, your article doesn’t talk about whether or not the property is at sea level. It just says “ocean view”, which in CA often means it’s still pretty much above sea level. Al Gore also buys carbon offsets from a company owned by Al Gore. Saw it on an episode of Penn & Teller’s Bullshit. This doesn’t mean what he says about global warming isn’t true, it does make him an asshole. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879.md?page=4)