Webloggin » Al Gore Pimps Self Serving Solutions to the Problems He Helped Create

Update: MKFreeberg adds the following update to this topic this morning -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESxvY1tQHTo

The Morgan Rule of Environmentalism rings true once again: It’s all about showing off for each other. Our actions having a beneficial effect on the environment, our actions having a harmful effect on the environment — anything having an effect on anything, save for new regulations forcing people to do things — is all off-topic. Environmentalism has nothing to do with any of that.

It’s about sending messages to each other and making up new rules. That is all.

Original article below:

And make no mistake about it, the problems with domestic energy that Al Gore had a hand in creating were done so for the benefit of Democratic politics and lining their own money grubbing pockets. Now he is pimping a solution that was tailor made to swoop in once Democrat energy policies hobbled domestic capacity. The guy should be in jail IMHO.

Al Gore appeared on Meet The Press this weekend and had this to say about the affect that his solutions to move off of fossil fuels will have on the economy, the price of oil and coal and our domestic capacity to stem the rise in prices: (my comments are in blue)

Brokaw: What would electricity cost in terms of the transition while it is underway? most estimates are that it would cost a lot more money, that it would have a devastating effect on main street, and especially on rural America.

Gore: Well, ah, I don’t agree with that (of course you wouldn’t considering that you have a financial stake in your solution)

Gore: and I think that the devastating effect on main street and the rest of the country is coming from the present rise in cost for electricity. (duh, you think? And who is to blame for that? From Gore’s perspective it is a problem caused by speculators which is a Democrat talking point, China demand that Al Gore and the Clinton administration put on the path that it is currently on, and the lack of new oil finds that of course was a problem created by Democrats to begin with.)

And the reason why is, China and the other emerging economies again are bidding up the price of every lump of coal and every drop of oil. (Myth, this is the old peak oil lie that claims that oil is rising in cost because of supply shortfalls. Something anyone that studied the IEA’s 11 April 2008 Oil Market Report would know to be false. IEA is the International Energy Agency.)

I am going to stop there for a minute because it is important to deconstruct the lie while it is being spun because lies have a tendency to build on top of each other. I stumbled across a blog called peakoildebunked that explains the position using facts, something that eco-terrorists seem to avoid or selectively cite when trying to fool the world. Note also that China’s imports of oil fell by 3.9% from over a year ago in April yet prices continued to rise here in the U.S. because of things that affect markets such as statements by dictators in unstable areas of the world that are responsible for oil production among other factors.

Lately there’s been a lot of debate here and elsewhere about whether oil prices are being determined by fundamentals — i.e. by supply and demand — or by financial flows (i.e. dollar weakness, inflation hedging, speculation, hoarding). So let’s take a look at the actual figures for world supply and demand from the IEA. These figures are taken from P. 51 of the IEA’s 11 April 2008 Oil Market Report, available as a pdf here.

For each time period below, the figure on the left is demand, and the figure on the right is supply, in millions of barrels per day.

2004: 82.5, 83.4
2005: 83.9, 84.6
1Q06: 85.6, 85.4
2Q06: 83.6, 85.1
3Q06: 84.6, 85.7
4Q06: 85.6, 85.4
2006: 84.9, 85.4
1Q07: 86.1, 85.6
2Q07: 85.1, 85.2
3Q07: 85.6, 85.2
4Q07: 87.1, 86. 5
2007: 86.0, 85.6
1Q08: 87.3, 87.3

Now, let’s compare these figures against the graph of oil prices:

1) For the years 2004, 2005 and 2006, oil prices rose consistently despite the fact that there was no shortage, and supply was more than adequate to meet demand. The surplus of supply over demand was 0.9mbd in 2004, 0.7mbd in 2005 and 0.5mbd in 2006. The theory that oil prices rose in this period due to demand exceeding supply doesn’t hold water. The figures clearly state otherwise. Supply substantially exceeded demand the whole time.

Let’s continue with Al Gore’s yarn spinning coming right back where he talks about new discoveries of oil.

Gore: and the new discoveries have been declining, so the estimates are now that these price increases are likely to continue until we stop uh, just taking baby steps and offering gimmicks. And instead have a strategic initiative.

Spoken like a true snake oil salesman, the king of offering gimmicks to stir up manufactured fear on global warming. Yet he is one of the primary reasons that new oil discoveries in the U.S. can not be attained.

Let’s think about this for a minute. Imagine that I am T-Bone Trippany, much maligned oil baron and financier of future oil initiatives. I address Congress way back in 1998 to seek approval to drill for oil in the United States. This was ten years ago, about the time it would take for that research and infrastructure to start providing solutions to the United States. But wait a minute. Vice President Al Gore and his cabal of Democrat supporters had a plan to prevent drilling and new research, keep our dependence on foreign oil and lobby to open up Chinese markets and more unrestricted trade policies. They decided to prevent me from doing my research or even consider the possibility of drilling domestically let alone opening up a refinery. So I decided to punt and guess what, new discoveries decrease rapidly as companies become more reliant on foreign oil. Tada! Politically created issue.

It is easy to see the benefits of such policies, especially if you plan to invest money toward new replacement solutions when you eventually return to the private sector. Now we learn that Al Gore has investments that can only be realized if the United States starts taxing and penalizing people and businesses like crazy with a scheme based on trading carbon credits. Nice plan if you are on the inside. Of course most CEO’s would go to jail for manipulating markets in this manner, but not Al Gore and his army of eco-terrorists. They can be the indirect beneficiary of their own policies in the 1990’s and laugh all the way to the bank. The Democrats commonly misuse a term to explain this sort of phenomenon, it’s called wind fall profits.

The policies of the 1990’s also helped feed the activist fringe of the Democrat party that is used to spread fear and solicit votes. Hence they are vested in many ways. Votes equate power and the Democrats can stock the government with those friendly to the new economy they have in mind.

Don’t get me wrong. I am all for finding cheap alternatives to foreign oil. But that includes the many massive discoveries that Gore lied about when he says they don’t exist, shale oil, tar sands, midwest coal and the many off limits areas that we presently have in the United States. (ref, Brazil Oil Find, may be worlds third largest, shale oil and Democrat obstructionist move to stifle research, massive oil discovery in the Gulf of Mexico, Canadian oil may top Saudi supplies,….) To sit and say that there aren’t new discoveries tips Al Gore’s hand. It’s a lie. To further propose that his solutions are the only ones available is silly as well. There needs to be a mix of solutions. Some of those depend on oil at least in the near term.

Finally note Al Gore’s body language.

There are a couple of classes of liars. Those like Bill Clinton that can look you in the eye and tell you unbelievable yet convincing tales without batting a single lash. And the Al Gore type that tries as hard as can be to deliver a line of bull but can’t stop that smirk from crossing his face when doing so.

My wife calls this the lie look. She knows because I have it. She can look at me instantly and tell if I am not giving her the complete story. This usually revolves around my incredibly growing drum set or mini home recording studio. This is an example of how “the lie look” works. I sneak in a new tom, cymbal, microphone or some sort of outboard unit. Eventually my better half comes around to see me play and inquires about the subtle difference in the setup, not quite knowing what has changed. This requires a response by me that is either made by looking away while explaining, changing the subject or trying to bullshit my way through some half cocked story that is given away by this uncontrollable shit eating grin that I telescope each and every time I try to spin my way out of being caught with a new toy. Keep this in mind when you watch Al Gore speak.

Beware the wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Share This Article With Others: