Al Gore

Albert "Al" Gore was the 45th Vice President of the United States(1993-2001) succeeding Dan Quayle and succeeded by Dick Cheney, following service in the House of Representatives and the Senate, spanning 1977-85 and 1985-93, respectively.

Before Politics

In his early life, Al Gore attended Harvard University, served in the United States Army, and worked as a journalist.

Marriage

He is married to activist Tipper Gore.

Senate

In his Senate career, he proposed bills to fund the Internet and chaired panels on environmental issues. In 1992 he wrote "Earth in the Balance" and in May 2007 another of his books is set to be published, "Assault on Reason."

Vice Presidency

The Democratic Party selected him for Vice President on the 1992 ticket. The Democrats were victorious and he was sworn in on January 20, 1993.

Campaign for the Presidency

As is customary with Vice Presidents, he was nominated to the Democratic ticket for the 2000 Presidential election. Gore lost to George W. Bush in the Electoral College after a close vote, in which Gore received more popular votes than Bush, but fewer electoral votes. In light of alleged voting irregularities, the results of the election were contested, with Gore accepting Bush's nomination on December 13.

Post politics

Gore has started an investment firm to invest in environmentally sustainable technology and industries, a cable channel (Current TV), and is an adviser to Google. He also starred in a keynote presentation about the climate crisis, "An Inconvenient Truth," which won an Oscar. Al Gore is also mentioned as a possible 2008 presidential candidate.

Criticism

Al Gore has recently received criticism for his alleged hypocrisy on environmental issues. When it was discovered that Gore's utility bill is 20 times higher than the average American's many of his detractors accused him of not living up to his own standards. Gore's defenders claim that the majority of that power came from 'green', or environmentally friendly, power sources such as solar and wind power. These power sources are much more expensive than traditional power sources such as coal and nuclear power. From The Tennessean:

"Gore purchased 108 blocks of "green power" for each of the past three months, according to a summary of the bills.

That's a total of $432 a month Gore paid extra for solar or other renewable energy sources.

The green power Gore purchased in those three months is equivalent to recycling 2.48 million aluminum cans or 286,092 pounds of newspaper, according to comparison figures on NES' Web site."

The above scheme, known as purchasing "carbon credits", is considered highly dubious by some, as it is tantamount to paying someone else to use a "green" energy source for you. It would be akin to shooting a dozen spotted owls, then paying a farmer to raise 12 extra chickens to replace them.

Also, some conservatives have pointed to Gore's use of a private jet while spreading the message about the dangers of global warming.

Attention has also been called to Gore's profits from mining royalties. Specifically, the mining of zinc adjacent to his property he leased in Tennesse, which has released millions of pounds of potentially toxic substances into the environment. The mine has been closed since 2003. The new owner Strategic Resource Acquisition is planning to re-open the mine. From The Tennessean (3/12/07):

'Last week, Gore sent a letter asking the company to work with Earthworks, a national environmental group, to make sure the operation doesn’t damage the environment.

“We would like for you to engage with us in a process to ensure that the mine becomes a global example of environmental best practices,” Gore wrote.'

However, this was after he had already made $500,000 from the mining operations.