CSE Cuts Through the Environmental Spin: Which Al Gore Do You Believe?

As the election draws near, citizens are hearing more rhetoric on environmental issues from Vice President Al Gore. Lately, Gore has been declaring that American families ought to have the freedom to drive anywhere at a cost that is affordable. He is talking a lot about the cost for an average American family to get around, or to heat and cool their homes. Just the other day he said that he “stand[s] for protecting the environment in ways that will create good new jobs.”

But today’s Al Gore is much different from the Al Gore who worked in the Clinton administration. That Al Gore didn’t seem to care much about American jobs, or what it cost working Americans to heat their homes, or to drive back-and-forth to their jobs, or to go to the supermarket, or to pick up their kids after school.

In fact, the old Al Gore seemed downright opposed to affordable gas, safe and reliable cars, and dependable transportation.

But, is the new Al Gore here to stay? Looking at his record, it doesn’t seem likely:

In 1993, Gore cast the deciding vote to increase gas taxes by 4.3 cents per gallon.

Gore demands ratification of the UN Global Warming Treaty—which the Senate rejected 98-0. This treaty would eliminate millions of American jobs, and raise gas prices by 60 cents per gallon.

Gore authored and fought for a Btu tax on energy—which would raise gas prices by 7.5 cents per gallon.

As gas prices surged last year, the Clinton-Gore administration imposed a new federal requirement for low-sulfur fuels that will raise gas prices by 5 to 6 cents per gallon.

Clinton-Gore administration regulations for reformulated gasoline raised gas prices by as much as 25 cents per gallon.

The Clinton-Gore administration has opposed new American oil production at every turn. America’s dependence on foreign oil is at 60%—a historic high.

Gore says he cares about pollution, but in fact his solution is to export pollution to countries that care little about toxic waste and emissions. Drilling our own reserves ensures that the U.S. will no longer rely on foreign oil and that exploration will be done according to sound environmental practices.

It all adds up to a man who thinks Americans are not paying enough for our gasoline—and that is not fuzzy math.