March 3, 2007

Global Warming Junk Bonds?

Blogger Doug Ross finds some intriguing links between Al Gore and junk bond king Michael Milke and wonders if carbon offsets are just a high-class junk bond scam, but updated for the 21st century. The similarities and the links are real. I must say I never expected my original story on Gore, carbon offsets and Generation Investment Management to develop this way but, looking back at it, I see a fine example of collaborative journalism.

First, the Tennessee Center for Policy Research releases Gore's electric bills showing his Nashville mansion to be an energy hog. Next, The Tennessean, in writing about the TCPR's release, quotes Gore's spokesperson saying Gore's energy use is "green" because he buys something called "carbon offsets" from a company called Generation Investment Management. Next, I do what the newspaper reporter should have done - examine whether what the Gore flack said is true or not. I take look at Generation Investment Management - Gore's invesment management firm - and find that it doesn't sell carbon offsets. Next, Dan Riehl investigates GIM further and finds allegations of corruption once swirled around the Gore confidante who runs GIM's American operations. And, now, Ross finds similarities between "carbon offsets" and junk bonds - and ties between Gore and the convicted former junk bond king Michael Milken.

I eagerly wait to see where the story goes next...

Update: Riehl's piece briefly mentioned the Molten Metals Technology scandal involving Gore and Peter S. Knight - a Gore insider and former lobbyist for MMT who now heads the U.S. operations of Gore's Generation Investment Management. Here's the June 1997 Time magazine article on that scandal, in which a company with unproven (and ultimately ineffective) technology to "wash" toxic materials got fat contracts from the Clinton-Gore administration in return for giving big campaign contributions to Clinton and Gore.

Update: Rush Limbaugh mentioned my exposing of the Gore/Generation Investment Management/carbon offsets fraud on Friday, linking to the version of the report I wrote for the Ecotality blog.