Critics Lash Gore's Green 'Profiteering'

Ex-VP will work with Kleiner Perkins to invest in clean technology

(NEWSER) - Al Gore is joining Silicon Valley's leading venture capital firm in an initiative to invest in green technology. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, traditionally focused on IT, recently moved into the area of environmentally friendly businesses. Gore will be an active partner with the firm, which has already invested $270 million in sustainable ventures, reports Fortune. More»

Multimedia presentation will cross 24 time zones

(NEWSER) - For those who just can't get enough Al Gore, this might be overkill even for you: The former vice president will attempt to take over the globe this week, by way of a 24-hour worldwide multimedia presentation aimed at winning over climate-change skeptics. "24 Hours of Reality" will have an emphasis on the link between climate change and "cataclysmic" weather, and will come to life as a presentation by Gore that will air every hour for 24 hours through 24 time zones this Wednesday to Thursday, Reuters reports. More»

(NEWSER) - Some conservatives see recent investments by Al Gore’s venture-capital group into stem-cell research involving a non-embryonic variety as a tacit denial of that more invasive method, the New Scientist reports. Gore’s company has put $20 million into a project researching treatment with induced pluripotent stem cells, which do not require an embryo to produce. But scientists see no message in the investment. More»

Vinod Khosla has spent a fortune financing enviro-startups

(NEWSER) - Vinod Khosla isn’t just smarter and richer than the average venture capitalist—he’s greener, too. Khosla has sunk $450 million into what he calls “imprudent science experiments" over the past 4 years, financing 45 enviro-tech startups. “We've funded an incredible number of things that would make no sense at all for a traditional venture fund,” the 53-year-old tells Fast Company. More»

Bullish Kleiner Perkins dismisses bubble talk

(NEWSER) - A Silicon Valley venture-capital firm announced yesterday it's raised $1.2 billion to invest in green technology—with an assist from new partner Al Gore. One Kleiner Perkins fund will invest in established companies, while the other will back clean-tech startups, the San Jose Mercury News reports. “He is spending time with us," an exec says of the Nobel-winning ex-VP, "helping us think about global opportunities.” More»