Back in June of 2008, when Al Gore finally announced his endorsement of Barack Obama, the future president said, “When I am president I will be counting on Al Gore to help me lead the fight for a clean energy future here in the United States and around the world.” Now, nearly two years later, Obama has lost Gore’s support thanks to his decision to expand offshore oil drilling.
In a tweet sent out to his 2.1 million followers yesterday, Gore pointed to a post written on the website of his Alliance for Climate Protection that criticizes Obama’s decision. In the post, the Alliance’s CEO, Maggie Fox, wrote:
“We cannot simply drill our way to energy security. Americans are demanding a clean energy future that goes beyond drilling and incentives the technologies that are critical to building a 21st-century clean energy economy. What we need now is presidential leadership that drives comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation that caps harmful carbon pollution, puts America back to work, ends our reliance on foreign oil and keeps us safe.”
In his tweet, Gore called the post “great.” When asked to clarify the former VP’s stance on the issue, his spokesperson said, “Former Vice-President Gore did not release a statement, but the philanthropy he chairs did.” That seems to confirm that Gore agrees with Fox, making this the first time he has publicly split with Obama on anything.
Oil drilling prompts Al Gore’s first public split on climate with President Obama [Hill]
