Liberal Talk Radio

For those of you holding out hope that the new-and-improved filmmaker Al Gore would run again in ‘08, you’re probably going to be disappointed. As this article in Wired makes clear, the man has a lot on his plate, and he couldn’t be happier about it.

In addition to making a movie and doing a national tour on global warming (like some kind of policy-wonk rock star), he’s got a fledgling TV network and an investment fund with $200M in assets and growing:

For all the early hype surrounding Current TV, the commercial venture that excites Gore most these days is Generation Investment Management, his global fund. As governments begin imposing carbon caps on businesses, Gore says, free markets will reward companies that practice environmental sustainability. The result: reductions in emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases responsible for global warming.

The idea, as far as I can tell, is to try to beat the market by looking at companies who have undiscovered enviro-related liabilities or opportunities. By looking beyond the balance sheet to a company’s enviro-friendliness, they think they can spot smart investments:

As an example, Gore cites a Generation report on the auto industry. Researchers analyzed traditional metrics, including sales and labor costs, but they also looked at the degree to which profits depended on high carbon output. Two years before it became clear how badly General Motors and Ford were performing, the Generation team calculated that Toyota, a more carbon-conscious company with better labor relations, would gain a $1,500 advantage per vehicle as government-mandated fuel efficiency and carbon emission standards come into effect

Good stuff. But it assumes that governments are on the path to tightening carbon emissions and fuel efficiency standards. Otherwise enviro-friendliness is not a strategic asset. But that, of course, is the point.

Anyway… after reading this whole piece I’m pretty convinced he’s got his hands full doing the kind of work he wants to be doing. Or, to paraphrase a recent Atrios comment, over the last few years Gore has been cured of the specific form of insanity that makes people want to be President.