# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2010, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/61 "2010-05-01T23:25:59Z")
> [@SecretaryofEvil](#): > > 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. People who buy products from their own company are assholes? Wouldn’t he be a bigger assholeif he didn’t buy products that he sold? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2010, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/62 "2010-05-01T23:30:39Z")
> [@SecretaryofEvil](#): > > 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. :::sigh::: I give–just _why_ does that make him an asshole? ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/63 "2010-05-02T00:08:14Z")
> [@SecretaryofEvil](#): > > 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. To add to what \*\*Simplicio \*\*and \*\*samclem \*\*said, it is sad but Penn & Teller did fell for.. well, bullshit. [http://www.youtube.com/user/potholer54#p/a/A4F0994AFB057BB8/2/EU\_AtHkB4Ms](http://www.youtube.com/user/potholer54#p/a/A4F0994AFB057BB8/2/EU_AtHkB4Ms) > **[GACOR200 : Surga untuk Hewan Peliharaan Kesayangan Anda](https://www.logicalscience.com/)** > > Gacor200 tempat terbaik untuk memenuhi segala kebutuhan hewan peliharaan Anda dengan berbagai pilihan produk dan layanan perawatam untuk hewan > [@](#): > > 15:08 Jerry Taylor from CATO claims scientists predicted an Ice age > > Real climate covered this topic in their article titled The Global Cooling Myth. William Connolley has also made a hobby out of debunking this myth. There is a BIG difference between peer-review scientific literature and regular magazines and newspapers. While there were some questions about aerosols blocking sunlight, the global cooling threat was not predicted in the peer-review scientific literature and it was not predicted by the National Academy of Sciences. > > Taylors exact quote from Penn and Teller’s show: “In the mid 70’s we were told pollution is going to cause a new ice age… The very same scientists who argued an ice age was coming because of industrial pollution then shifted gears and argued industrial pollution will bring on a greenhouse warming world with virtually no breath in between.” It would be nice if he actually named which NAS reports and scientific journals he was talking about. If you find any peer-review journals predicting imminent global cooling please email them to us or William Connolley. As of right now we can’t find any. Jerry Taylor is a Senior Fellow at the industry funded CATO institute. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/64 "2010-05-02T00:22:57Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > :::sigh::: > I give–just _why_ does that make him an asshole? Seriously? Because, by buying those, he gets to pollute more that the rest of us, while telling us we need to pollute less. And because its his own company, he can negotiate whatever price he wants. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/65 "2010-05-02T00:28:13Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Seriously? Because, by buying those, he gets to pollute more that the rest of us, while telling us we need to pollute less. And because its his own company, he can negotiate whatever price he wants. I would think that that is a point coming mostly from Fox news. [http://mediamatters.org/research/200905010049](http://mediamatters.org/research/200905010049) > [@](#): > > Introducing the segment, Ingraham stated: “It seems that being green does pay big time – just ask Al Gore. Mr. Global Warming was worth about $2 million or so when he left office in 2001, but after eight years of tirelessly working to save the world, the planet, he’s now reportedly – get this – worth a whopping $100 million. His financial windfall came up at last week’s Capitol Hill hearing.” Ingraham then aired the following selectively edited clips from Gore’s testimony: > > > [@](#): > > > > REP. MARSHA BLACKBURN (R-TN): Is the legislation that we are discussing here today, is that something that you are going to personally benefit from? > > > > ``` > > [Ingraham's cut] > > > > GORE: If you believe that the reason I have been working on this issue for 30 years is because of greed, you don't know me. > > > > [Ingraham's cut] > > > > GORE: I've been willing to put my money where my mouth is. Do you think there's something wrong with being active in business in this country? > > > > BLACKBURN: I am simply asking for clarification -- > > > > GORE: I'm proud of it. > > > > BLACKBURN: -- of the relationship. > > > > GORE: I'm proud of it. > > > > ``` > > The full exchange from the hearing is included below, with the parts Ingraham provided in italics, and Gore’s relevant responses – which were omitted from the O’Reilly Factor segment – in bold: > > > [@](#): > > > > BLACKBURN: So you’re a partner in Kleiner Perkins. OK. Now, they have invested about a billion dollars in 40 companies that are going to benefit from cap-and-trade legislation. So is the legislation that we are discussing here today, is that something that you are going to personally benefit from? > > > > ``` > > GORE: I believe that the transition to a green economy is good for our economy and good for all of us, and I have invested in it. But every penny that I have made, I have put right into a nonprofit, the Alliance for Climate Protection, to spread awareness of why we have to take on this challenge. > > > > And Congresswoman, if you're -- if you believe that the reason I have been working on this issue for 30 years is because of greed, you don't know me. > > > > BLACKBURN: Sir, I'm not making accusations, I'm asking questions that have been asked of me and individuals -- constituents that were seeking a point of clarity, so I am asking you for that point of -- point of clarity. > > > > GORE: I understand exactly what you're doing, Congresswoman. Everybody here does. > > > > BLACKBURN: And, well -- you know, are you willing to divest yourself of any profit? Does all of it go to a not-for-profit that is an educational not-for-profit -- > > > > GORE: Every penny that I have made -- > > > > BLACKBURN: Every penny -- > > > > GORE: -- has gone to it. Every penny from the movie, from the book, from any investments in renewable energy. I've been willing to put my money where my mouth is. Do you think there's something wrong with being active in business in this country? > > > > BLACKBURN: I am simply asking for clarification -- > > > > GORE: I'm proud of it. > > > > BLACKBURN: -- of the relationship. > > > > GORE: I'm proud of it. > > > > ``` ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/66 "2010-05-02T01:38:51Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > 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.** > [@Kolga](#): > > Nooooooooooooooooooooo!!! > > Another perfectly good Pit thread ruined. 😉 I don’t think he’s been around for awhile – has he? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/67 "2010-05-02T02:13:23Z")
Gores Tenn. House has solar panels, rainwater collection system, geothermic heating and uses compact light emitting diode light bulbs. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/68 "2010-05-02T02:34:17Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I don’t think he’s been around for awhile – has he? AFAIR he crashed and burned by telling us all that there was no such thing as water vapor feedback with CO2, when I posted the evidence showing how ignorant that position was, he played the “ignore card”. He never showed again for climate change threads but I think I noticed him in Cafe Society (I helped him once to ID a movie that he was looking for and he never gave thanks) ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/69 "2010-05-02T03:37:05Z")
So… Al Gore, who is a very wealthy man, has bought a very expensive house. And this somehow makes him a scam artist. Got it. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/70 "2010-05-02T03:41:02Z")
I’ve made this argument before, probably the last time this came up. It’s true that compact fluorescent bulbs and recycling aren’t going to save the planet. Al Gore knows that. He knows that the only things that will help to counteract global warming are big, top-down solutions–government regulations, international treaties, investment of public money (in conjunction with private investment), and the like. Changes like that happen from the top down, but the political will to make them comes from the bottom up. People need to be willing to elect politicians who will make climate change a priority, to commit tax dollars to solving the problem, and to accept changes that come along with the solutions. The best way to guarantee that is to make environmental stewardship a part of people’s everyday lives, and a part of being a good citizen. The best way to do that is to encourage people to 1.) educate themselves, and 2.) make better choices within their own lives, like choosing more efficient light bulbs or cars. People aren’t going to pay attention if you tell them they need to start acting like Ed Begley, Jr., but if you get them in the habit of doing the small everyday things then you can start to create the political will to make the real changes happen. That’s why someone like Al Gore is a better spokesman for the movement than someone like Ed Begley, Jr. Gore has not completely restructured his life around reducing his environmental impact the way Begley has; instead he lives the life that he wants to live and takes steps to reduce the impact of that life on the climate, even if he doesn’t take every step that he could. That’s all he asks of anyone else. Meanwhile, he’s educating and focusing people to help create a political environment in which the big changes can happen. So even though people who are predisposed to dislike Al Gore may call his unwillingness to live off the grid in a log cabin and travel solely by horseback “hypocrisy”, it would not make his advocacy more effective if he went overboard with his own conservation. Gore is playing the long game. ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/71 "2010-05-02T15:16:41Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > :::sigh::: > I give–just _why_ does that make him an asshole? I should have elaborated why I think he’s an asshole. It’s more the fact that he sells carbon offsets, and makes a shit ton of money doing so. He presents himself as this great moral crusader, but his actions more closely resemble those of a profiteer. He doesn’t donate all the money he earns from from global warming to environmental causes, he spends it on multiple mansions that consume tons of energy to be built, heated, and air conditioned. Now I wouldn’t find this so particularly galling if he didn’t chastise Americans for causing more pollution than Indians via our higher rate of consumption. Or if carbon offsets actually stopped or reversed global warming, but best case scenario they mildly retard its increase. Basically, Gore’s message is “do as I say, not as I do,” which pretty much makes him an asshole. ---
**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:** [May 2, 2010, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/72 "2010-05-02T15:22:03Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Seriously? Because, by buying those, he gets to pollute more that the rest of us, while telling us we need to pollute less. And because its his own company, he can negotiate whatever price he wants. Buying carbon offsets does not mean he gets to polute more than the rest of us. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/73 "2010-05-02T15:30:29Z")
Again, I ask for evidence that the technologies paid for when you purchase carbon offsets do not work. I do not know what they are, personally. It very well could be that they do not work. But Gore is not hypocritical if his technology really does offset as much carbon as claimed, and he invests enough to offset his footprint. Even if he claimed that if everyone did as he did with regards to carbon offsets, then fears of global warming would be solved, he would just be mistaken, rather than hypocritical. And even if there is a too-low maximum on these schemes, if they _actually work_, then Gore is not a net polluter. Most people do not invest in carbon offsets, so he is paying for people to perform environmental mitigation _which would not happen without the money_. ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/74 "2010-05-02T15:32:03Z")
Except he does pollute more than the rest of us. While telling us we should pollute less. I don’t think he’s lying about the existence of global warming, I just think he’s an asshole. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bith_Shuffle)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/75 "2010-05-02T15:34:01Z")
The OP does not even try to show that Al Gore is a scam artist. Maybe because Al Gore isn’t a scam artist. If he buys a huge, wasteful property, does that make him a scam artist? No. End of story. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/76 "2010-05-02T15:52:56Z")
Has the OP been in a coma since 2006? Because this debate raged on back then, and it got nowhere, because the people who hated Gore said “HYPOCRITE!!!” and used it as an excuse not to do anything about global warming, and meanwhile those who didn’t hate Gore said “WHO CARES” and … well, probably didn’t do much of anything about global warming either. And that’s pretty much the end of the debate as far as it went. Why on earth bring this up four years later as if you’ve only just read it on Drudge? Oh wait. I think I just figured it out. A thread rehashing old material? Maybe it’s actually just a winking nod to Gore’s exhortation to save the environment by recycling. Well played, OP! ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/77 "2010-05-02T17:08:34Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Buying carbon offsets does not mean he gets to polute more than the rest of us. Do you not understand the definition of the word “offset”? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/78 "2010-05-02T19:54:58Z")
> [@SecretaryofEvil](#): > > He doesn’t donate all the money he earns from from global warming to environmental causes, he spends it on multiple mansions that consume tons of energy to be built, heated, and air conditioned. Cite? ---
**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:** [May 3, 2010, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/79 "2010-05-03T00:11:19Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Buying carbon offsets does not mean he gets to polute more than the rest of us. > [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > Do you not understand the definition of the word “offset”? That’s what I was thinking, too - when the rubber hits the road, that kind of _is_ what it means. It’s like trying to lose weight by paying someone to go to the gym and work out for you. ---
**Author:** ![Tully\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@Tully\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tully_Mars)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879/80 "2010-05-04T21:37:56Z")
> [@choie](#): > > Has the OP been in a coma since 2006? Because this debate raged on back then, and it got nowhere, because the people who hated Gore said “HYPOCRITE!!!” and used it as an excuse not to do anything about global warming, and meanwhile those who didn’t hate Gore said “WHO CARES” and … well, probably didn’t do much of anything about global warming either. And that’s pretty much the end of the debate as far as it went. Why on earth bring this up four years later as if you’ve only just read it on Drudge? > > Oh wait. I think I just figured it out. A thread rehashing old material? Maybe it’s actually just a winking nod to Gore’s exhortation to save the environment by recycling. Well played, OP! At least it’s not another thread about Sarah Palin. I mean, it is the same thread, just with the name changed from Sarah Palin to Al Gore, but at least the name is different and I get to read different people cry, “Hypocrite!!”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-gore-the-scam-artist/537879.md?page=5)