Read This Changes Everything Online
Authors: Naomi Klein
18
. “Beyond Coal Campaign,” Philanthropist: Moving Beyond
Coal, Mike Bloomberg,
http://www.mikebloomberg.com
; “Bloomberg Philanthropies Grant Awarded to Environmental Defense Fund,” Bloomberg Philanthropies, press release, August 27, 2012; Katherine Bagley and Maria Gallucci, “Bloomberg’s Hidden Legacy: Climate Change and the Future of New York City, Part 1,” InsideClimate News, November 18, 2013; FOOTNOTE: Tom Angotti, “Is New York’s Sustainability
Plan Sustainable?” paper presented at Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning and Association of European Schools of Planning joint conference, July 2008; Michael R. Bloomberg and George P. Mitchell, “Fracking is Too Important to Foul Up,”
Washington Post
, August 23, 2012.
19
. “Introducing Our Carbon Risk Valuation Tool,” Bloomberg, December 5, 2013; Dawn Lim, “Willett Advisors Eyes Real
Assets for Bloomberg’s Philanthropic Portfolio,” Foundation & Endowment Intelligence, May 2013.
20
. “Risky Business Co-Chair Michael Bloomberg” (video), Next Generation, YouTube, June 23, 2014; Robert Kopp, et al., “American Climate Prospectus: Economic Risks in the United States, prepared by Rhodium Group for the Risky Business Project, June 2014; “Secretary-General Appoints Michael Bloomberg
of United States Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change,” United Nations, press release, January 31, 2014.
21
.
Holdings in other major oil and gas companies include Shell, ConocoPhillips, and Chevron, and the foundation has investments in a large number of other oil and gas exploration, production, services, and engineering firms, as well as coal, gas, and mining companies: Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation Trust, Form 990-PF, Return of Private Foundation, 2012, Attachment C, pp. 1–18, and Attachment D, pp. 1–15; U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, December 31, 2013,
http://www.sec.gov
.
22
. “ENERGY MIRACLES”: Bill Gates, “Innovating to Zero!” (video), TED, February 2010; TERRAPOWER: “Chairman of the Board,”
http://terrapower.com
; Robert A. Guth, “A Window into the Nuclear Future,”
Wall Street Journal
, February 28, 2011; CARBON-SUCKING INVESTMENT: “About CE,” Carbon Engineering,
http://carbonengineering.com
; MILLIONS OF HIS OWN MONEY: “Fund for Innovative Climate and Energy Research,”
http://dge.stanford.edu
; PATENTS: U.S. Patent 8,702,982, “Water Alteration Sructure and System,” filed January 3, 2008; U.S. Patent 8,685,254, “Water Alteration Structure Applications and Methods,”
filed January 3, 2008; U.S. Patent 8,679,331, “Water Alteration Structure Movement Method and System,” filed January 3, 2008; U.S. Patent 8,348,550, “Water Alteration Structure and System Having Heat Transfer Conduit,” filed May 29, 2009; “WE FOCUS”: Interview with David Leonhardt (transcript), Washington Ideas Forum, November 14, 2012; “CUTE”: Dave Mosher, “Gates: ‘Cute’ Won’t Solve Planet’s
Energy Woes,”
Wired
, May 3, 2011; “NON-ECONOMIC”: “Conversation with Bill Gates” (transcript),
Charlie Rose Show
, January 30, 2013; 25 PERCENT: “Production: Gross Electricity Production in Germany from 2011 to 2013,” Statistisches Bundesamt,
https://www.destatis.de
.
23
. “Texas Oilman T. Boone Pickens Wants to Supplant Oil with Wind,”
USA Today
, July 11, 2008; “T. Boone Pickens TV Commercial”
(video), PickensPlan, YouTube, July 7, 2008.
24
. Dan Reed, “An Apology to Boone Pickens: Sorry, Your Plan Never Had a Chance,”
Energy Viewpoints
, December 9, 2013; Carl Pope, “T. Boone and Me,” Huffington Post, July 3, 2008.
25
. Christopher Helman, “T. Boone Reborn,”
Forbes
, March 31, 2014; Kirsten Korosec, “T. Boone Pickens Finally Drops the ‘Clean’ from His ‘Clean Energy’ Plan,”
MoneyWatch,
CBS, May 19, 2011; Fen Montaigne, “A New Pickens Plan: Good for the U.S. or Just for T. Boone?”
Yale Environment 360
, April 11, 2011; “T. Boone Pickens on Why He’s for the Keystone XL Pipeline, Why the Tax Code Should Be ‘Redone’ and No One Person Is to Blame for Gas Prices,” CNN, April 25, 2012.
26
. VIRGIN GREEN FUND: Nicholas Lockley, “Eco-pragmatists,”
Private Equity International
, November
2007, pp. 76–77; AGROFUEL INVESTMENTS: “Khosla Ventures and Virgin Fuels Invest in Gevo, Inc.,” Gevo, Inc., press release, July 19, 2007; Kabir Chibber, “How Green Is Richard Branson?”
Wired
, August 5, 2009; NOT AN INVESTOR IN BIOFUEL PROJECTS: personal email communication with Freya Burton, director of European relations, LanzaTech, April 18, 2014; Ross Kelly, “Virgin Australia Researching Eucalyptus
Leaves as Jet Fuel,”
Wall Street Journal
, July 6, 2011; email communication, communications manager, Future Farm Industries Cooperative Research Center, April 29, 2014; “HASN’T”: Branson,
Screw It, Let’s Do It,
132; BIOFUELS STALLED: “What Happened to Biofuels?”
The Economist
, September 7, 2013; “INCREASINGLY CLEAR”: personal email communication with Richard Branson, May 6, 2014; FOOTNOTE: National
Research Council,
Renewable Fuel Standard: Potential Economic and Environmental Effects of U.S. Biofuel Policy
(Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press, 2011), 130–34.
27
. “Our Companies: Gevo,” Virgin Green Fund, version saved by the Internet Archive Wayback Machine on September 28, 2013,
http://web.archive.org
; “Our Companies: Seven Seas Water,” Virgin Green Fund, version saved by the Internet
Archive Wayback Machine on April 4, 2014,
http://web.archive.org
; “Our Companies: Metrolight,” Virgin Green Fund, version saved by the Internet Archive Wayback Machine on October 30, 2013,
http://web.archive.org
; “Our Companies: GreenRoad,” Virgin Green Fund, version saved by the Internet Archive Wayback Machine on November 29, 2013,
http://web.archive.org
; personal interview with Evan Lovell,
September 3, 2013.
28
.
Personal interview with Jigar Shah, September 9, 2013.
29
. Chibber, “How Green Is Richard Branson?”
30
. Branson took part in Solazyme’s Series D round of financing, during which the company raised about $50 million from at least 10 investors. The round was led by Morgan Stanley and Braemar Energy Ventures, which says it typically invests “between $1 million and $10 million
in a single round of financing,” and up to $25 million total. Even if the majority of the Series D funding had come from Branson (an unlikely scenario), the value of his publicized investments would remain millions short of $300 million: “Solazyme Announces Series D Financing Round of More Than $50 Million,” Solazyme Inc., press release, August 9, 2010; “Solazyme Adds Sir Richard Branson as
Strategic Investor,” Solazyme Inc., press release, September 8, 2010; “About Braemar Energy Ventures,” Braemar Energy Ventures,
http://www.braemarenergy.com
. “TWO OR THREE HUNDRED MILLION”: “Richard Branson on Climate Change” (video),
The Economist
, September 23, 2010; “HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS”: John Vidal, “Richard Branson Pledges to Turn Caribbean Green,”
Observer
, February 8, 2014; Lovell interview,
September 3, 2013.
31
. Branson email communication, May 6, 2014; Irene Klotz, “Profile: Sir Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin Galactic,”
SpaceNews
, November 11, 2013; Vidal, “Richard Branson Pledges to Turn Caribbean Green.”
32
. Chibber, “How Green Is Richard Branson?”; Branson email communication, May 6, 2014.
33
. Branson,
Screw It, Let’s Do It
, xi; Dan Reed, “Virgin America Takes Off,”
USA
Today
, August 8, 2007; personal email communication with Madhu Unnikrishnan, manager of media relations, Virgin America, September 6, 2013; Victoria Stilwell, “Virgin America Cuts Airbus Order, Delays Jets to Survive,” Bloomberg, November 16, 2012; Grant Robertson, “Virgin America Sets Course for Canada,”
Globe and Mail
, March 19, 2010.
34
. “Virgin America Orders 60 New Planes, Celebrates ‘Growing
Planes’ with Sweet 60 Fare Sale,” Virgin America, press release, January 17, 2010.
35
. NUMBER OF PEOPLE: “Annual Report 2012,” Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd., p. 2,
http://www.virginaustralia.com
; “STIFF COMPETITION”: “Richard Branson Beats off Stiff Competition for Scottish Airport Links,”
Courier
, April 9, 2013; NO FARES: Alastair Dalton, “Virgin’s ‘Zero Fares’ on Scots Routes in BA Battle,”
Scotsman
, March 18, 2013; “Taxi Fares,” Transport for London,
http://www.tfl.gov.uk
; FOOTNOTE: Mark Pilling, “Size Does Matter for Virgin Boss Branson,”
Flight Daily News
, July 23, 2002; Peter Pae, “New Airline Begins Service Between Los Angeles and Australia,”
Los Angeles Times
, February 28, 2009; Lucy Woods, “5 Virgin Aviation Stunts by Sir Richard Branson,”
Travel Magazine
, May 7, 2013.
36
. Fleet expansions for Virgin Atlantic and Virgin America were confirmed by media representatives at both airlines. Virgin Australia’s fleet expansion was estimated using information in the airline’s 2007 annual report, as well as its half-year report for 2014, and includes chartered aircraft and other services. Additional airlines in which Virgin was temporarily invested, such as Brussels Airlines,
Air Asia X, and Virgin Nigeria (now Air Nigeria) were not included: “Annual Report 2007,” Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd., p. 3; “2014 Half Year Results” (presentation), Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd., February 28, 2014, p. 11. Emissions growth was estimated by comparing the combined total emissions of Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia in 2007 to the combined total emissions of the three major Virgin
airlines in 2012 (Virgin America began its operations in mid-2007). Virgin Australia’s emissions were reported for the 2006–7 and 2011–12 fiscal years: “Supply Chain 2013,” Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd., Carbon Disclosure Project, p. 8,
https://www.cdp.net
; “Annual Report 2007,” Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd., p. 5; “Annual Report 2012,” Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd., p. 29; 2008 and 2012 emissions
information submitted to the Climate Registry, Virgin America Inc., p. 2,
https://www.crisreport.org
. For Virgin Australia in 2012–2013, see: “Annual Report 2013,” Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd., p. 32. DIP: “Sustainability Report: Winter 2011/12,” Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd., p. 4,
http://www.virgin-atlantic.com
.
37
. Mazyar Zeinali, “U.S. Domestic Airline Fuel Efficiency Ranking 2010,” International
Council on Clean Transportation, September 2013,
http://theicct.org
.
38
. “Virgin and Brawn Agree Sponsorship to Confirm Branson’s Entry to Formula One,”
Guardian
,
March 28, 2009; Daisy Carrington, “What Does a $250,000 Ticket to Space with Virgin Galactic Actually Buy You?” CNN, August 16, 2013; Peter Elkind, “Space-Travel Startups Take Off,”
Fortune
, January 16, 2013; FOOTNOTE: Salvatore Babones,
“Virgin Galactic’s Space Tourism Venture for the 1% Will Warm the Globe for the Rest of Us,”
Truthout
, August 14, 2012.
39
. Chibber, “How Green Is Richard Branson?”
40
. Richard Wachman, “Virgin Brands: What Does Richard Branson Really Own?”
Observer
, January 7, 2012; David Runciman, “The Stuntman,”
London Review of Books
, March 20, 2014; Heather Burke, “Bill Gates Tops Forbes List of Billionaires
for the 12th Year,” Bloomberg, March 9, 2006; “The World’s Billionaires: #308 Richard Branson,”
Forbes
, as of July 2014; Vidal, “Richard Branson Pledges to Turn Caribbean Green.”
41
. Chibber, “How Green is Richard Branson?”
42
. James Kanter, “Cash Prize for Environmental Help Goes Unawarded,”
New York Times
, November 21, 2010; Paul Smalera, “Richard Branson Has Deep-Sea Ambitions, Launches Virgin
Oceanic,”
Fortune
, April 5, 2011.
43
. Kanter, “Cash Prize for Environmental Help Goes Unawarded.”
44
. Branson email communication, May 6 2014; Helen Craig, “Virgin Earth Challenge Announces Leading Organisations,” Virgin Unite, November 2011.
45
.
Ibid.;
“$25 Million Prize Awarded to Green Technology” (video), SWTVChannel, YouTube, November 3, 2011; “The Finalists,” Virgin Earth Challenge,
http://www.virginearth.com
; “Biochar: A Critical Review of Science and Policy,”
Biofuelwatch
, November 2011.
46
. Craig, “Virgin Earth Challenge Announces Leading Organisations”; “Virgin Coming to Global Clean Energy Congress in Calgary,” Calgary Economic Development, press release, September 9, 2011.
47
. Knight’s job as the independent Sustainable Development Advisor for the Virgin Group ended in 2012, though he is still
linked to the Earth Prize: “Management Team,” The Virgin Earth Challenge,
http://www.virginearth.com
. OTHER CLIENTS: “My Corporate Expertise,” Dr. Alan Knight,
http://www.dralanknight.com
; “PRIVATE ACCESS”: Alan Knight, “Oil Sands Revisited,” Dr. Alan Knight, November 10, 2011,
http://www.dralanknight.com
; OSLI: “Contact,” Oil Sands Leadership Initiative,
http://www.osli.ca
.
48
. Knight, “Oil
Sands Revisited”; personal interview with Alan Knight, December 12, 2011.
49
. Rebecca Penty, “Calgary Firm a Finalist in Virgin’s $25M Green Technology Challenge,”
Calgary Herald,
September 28, 2011; Alan Knight, “Alberta Oil Sands Producers ‘Distracted from Ambition and Creativity,’ ”
Financial Post
, November 1, 2011.
50
. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, proved reserves
of crude oil were 26.5 billion barrels in 2012. Estimates for additional, economically recoverable reserves that could be extracted using current and “next-generation” CO
2
-EOR technologies have been added to the 2012 baseline: “Crude Oil Proved Reserves,” International Energy Statistics, U.S. Energy Information Administration; Vello A. Kuuskraa, Tyler Van Leeuwen, and Matt Wallace, “Improving
Domestic Energy Security and Lowering CO
2
Emissions with ‘Next Generation’ CO
2
-Enhanced Oil Recovery (CO
2
-EOR),” National Energy Technology Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, DOE/NETL-2011/1504, June 20, 2011, p. 4. “SINGLE LARGEST DETERRENT”: Marc Gunther, “Rethinking Carbon Dioxide: From a Pollutant to an Asset,”
Yale Environment 360
, February 23, 2012.