Republican Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn questioned Al Gore’s motives regarding his green investment. Indeed, both his environmental commitment and financial activities were scrutinized during a recent Congressional hearing. With the Obama Administration’s proposal for climate change legislation, former Vice President Al Gore was grilled for potential conflicts of interest between his investing activities and his role as uber-advocate for climate change action. GOP Rep. Marsha Blackburn – who shares the home state of Tennessee with Al Gore  – questioned his green investments through Kleiner Perkins based on an October 8th, 2008 New York Times’ article.

To avoid all “suspicion” on Al Gore’s green investment, Marsha Blackburn starts by explaining she’s giving Al Gore the opportunity “to kind of clear the air.” Quite surprisingly, it makes her giggle. Al Gore also laughs, but this time AT her when she mentions Kleiner Perkins. Al Gore is a partner at this venerable Silicon Valley  venture capital firm which recently launched a significant investment effort in green tech. The investments made by Kleiner Perkins amount to about a billion dollars in over forty green companies. These investments stand to benefit significantly from the cap-and-trade legislation discussed during the Congressional hearing.

It would be quite short-sighted to call Gore’s commitment to protecting the environment in question? He’s been advising a transition to a green economy for the past 30 years and fighting against global warming for just as long. It seems legitimate for Click here to read more

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Today, June 5th, is The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) World Environment Day.  World Environment Day was established to bring global attention and political action to issues surrounding the environment. This year’s slogan is “Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy.“ As Americans, this slogan should really be more relevant than ever as the Senate has scheduled a “cloture” vote to end the filibuster on the Climate Security Act tomorrow morning.

Over the last 7+ years, the United States has stood idle while the rest of the developed world has come together and fought to stop climate change. As the Bush era nears its close, there is an opportunity for the U.S. to join the fight and it is time for Americans to speak up. Environmental Defense has launched Operation Climate Vote to raise awareness and support for this historic global warming legislation. What can you do?

Here are a few ideas for starters…

1. Visit Environmental Defense to learn more

2. Email your Senators and urge them to vote YES on cloture

3. Give your Senators a call: Dial 1-800-927-6464 to be patched directly through.

4. Tell all your friends to take action.

Let’s make it happen!

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