Glenn Reynolds skewers the hypocrisy of Gulfstream-hopping celebrities trying to fight global warming. As he notes:
A Gulfstream III releases 10,000 pounds of carbon dioxide an hour. How can we demand “sacrifice” from ordinary Americans when our leaders — including those who call for the sacrifice — are flying in jets like this? If commercial first-class isn’t good enough, they should stay home.
Of course, it isn’t about having the Hollywood jet set cut back, it’s about having us cut back.
There are reasonable, affordable, and wise things one can do to reduce their “carbon footprint” and increase their energy efficiency. Even without all the global warming hysteria, energy efficiency is a good unto itself. However, the screeching alarmism of the empty-headed celebrity set only serves to discredit those reasonable efforts. Just like “power lines cause cancer” and “Alar is killing children” and “nuclear winter will kill us all,” a bunch of vapid celebrities are trying to wash themselves in a patina of social responsibility without having a clue about the subject they’re ranting about.
If these people really cared about being “green,” they’d get off their Gulfstreams and take the bus. Then again, it isn’t about being green for them, it’s about making green, and if being an environmentalist crusader can get them some free PR, they’ll start talking about how it’s critically important that the little people in flyover country not drive SUVs because that causes polar bears to die.
As always, when celebrity is used to push a scientific issue, it certainly isn’t because the science is sound…
Yes, leaders lead. They are in the vanguard, with “Follow me”. The celebs want the press. BTW, the SUV’s on the road (Hummer and H2) being the exceptions are much more fuel efficient today than 10 years ago.
Al and the celebs need get behind a gasoline tax that will raise the price to around $4/gallon, with the tax revenue going into alternative energy research and skip paying folks to grow corn. Swithgrass is an attractive alternative, grows naturally, doesn’t need the fertlizer and pesticide required by corn. Poultry fat is also a biodiesal candidate.
What about the MONSTER MANSIONS these folks live in? Most celebrities own SEVERAL homes! Gore owns 3, John Edwards owns 3 including a 28,000 sf mansion, John Kerry owns 5 houses, and on and on and on!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ZZ, pesticides aren’t going to be used as intensively if the corn is not for human consumption. Corn subsidies aren’t just for ethanol and I really don’t know what cutting them would do, but it doesn’t seem like it would be happy for the farmers. Chicken makes very, very little sense as a fuel when you take into account the reduction in energy output that you get at each tier in the food chain.
Gas taxes are bad because they disproportionately affect poor people. I also don’t believe that people in flyover country should be punished for driving trucks on their farms. We NEED our farm trucks.
In my opinion, the best way to go is nuclear. But the environmentalist nuts hate nuclear.