Are Pelosi’s “Green Investments” A Conflict Of Interest?

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she is on a mission to save the planet.  She has consistently refused to allow a vote on drilling for oil because she says she believes it is all a hoax.  But maybe Speaker Pelosi has other reasons.

The dcexaminer.com has recently revealed what that motive might be.  The good Speaker owns stock in Clean Energy Fuels Corporation (CEFC).  Have you ever heard of T. Boone Pickens?  Yes, I’m referring to the Texas oil billionaire who is now promoting his new wind-power business on television.  CEFC is T. Boone’s baby.  This project will depend on federal subsidies and, don’t forget, high oil prices along with continued government restrictions on drilling for oil in the US.

Wind power may be useful, but it is not as reliable as the commercials paint it to be.  This, however, is not my point.  Does anyone else see a possible conflict of interest here?  If gasoline prices remain high because Congress refuses to make drilling our number one economic priority, Pelosi stands to make substantial profits in the wind-power business.  She is also in a position to help push federal subsidies toward CEFC.  I wonder how many other national elected officials have invested in this deal along with Al Gore’s carbon credits?  According to the dcexaminer.com:

“A search of Pelosi’s official web site found no announcement of the investment in the Pickens operation. A request to the Speaker’s official spokesman yesterday for information about the investment went unanswered. Coincidentally, Pelosi’s investment came the same month as the House passed the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007, which she hailed as making the Congress over which she helps preside “the most open and honest in history.” There are numerous ways Pelosi could provide assistance to . . . Pickens, including helping secure federal tax advantages. Pickens expects at least 15 percent profits on the wind farm and associated initiatives. At . . . $14 per share value, Pelosi appears to own between 7,000 and 17,000 shares.”

By the way, Pelosi and Pickens are already encountering opposition to their little business deal.  Pelosi’s friends, the radical environmentalist groups around the country, are blocking both wind-power and solar-power production because they believe the wires carrying the electricity would disturb the beauty of the natural landscape and endanger some wild animals.  Who would have thought?