Ecocrites! Eco Hypocrites!
While I applaud the plethora of high profile folks currently using their celebrity to bring attention to the importance of moving toward less carbon-heavy lifestyles, I still get a good laugh at what giant hypocrites the majority of them are…
- George Clooney - cuts back on CO2 emissions by driving a Prius. Seems that CO2 emissions only count on terra firma though. He still feels okay flying around on a Gulfstream. Somehow, releasing the pollution directly into the atmosphere makes it better. Even his lovely girlfriend, Sarah Larson, is confused by the contradiction.
UPDATE: About 2 days after Sarah’s interview was made public, news broke that George and Sarah had broken up… think he’s upset she outted his hypocrisy?
- Lexus - was so thrilled that Paul McCartney did some promotional work for them, they comped him one of their giant hybrids, the LS600H. And to make it extra special, they even FLEW the car from Japan to England instead of putting it on the slow boat from Asia. Forget the carbon footprint reduction Sir Paul is getting from tooling around in his new LS600H, it won’t put a ding in the environmental damage caused by the delivery; per CO2balance.com, “the plane journey would have caused a carbon footprint of 38,050kg, compared to 397kg for a three-week boat journey.”
- Barbra Streisand - back during the rolling Brown-Outs in 2003, Babs did her best to encourage the masses to “try to line dry clothes…only run your dishwasher when it is fully loaded…” and more recently has posted a list of pointers on how to be greener. However, those rules don’t apply to her own estate, where she pays $22,000/year to keep her grass green. On the other hand, I guess she doesn’t ever define “green”. At least her grass is getting greener. Also, per Radar Magazine Online, she hasn’t exactly been cutting back on her travel requirement - for last year’s concert series in England she flew from city to city in a private jet (you know, because the cities in England are soooo far apart), while her posse and tour goodies required 13 tractor trailers following behind that pollution spewing jet.
- John Kerry - writing that environmentalist book last year (This Moment on Earth: Today’s New Environmentalists and Their Vision for the Future) sure must have made him sweat enough to really crank the A/C at his Beacon Hill townhouse. He runs up a $1,100 monthly electricity bill there. Apparently John and Theresa can’t afford those solar panels now that their $25 book is selling for a discounted $6.99.
Curious about who your fellow “masses” consider ecocrites? Check out the online poll Gawker conducted recently. Current results have John Travolta at the top of the list, though I think there are much bigger hypocrites on the list (Babs). You can still vote, so let them know who YOU think is talking out of both sides of their tailpipe!
Tags: barbra streisand, celebrity, CO2balance.com, ecocrite, gawker, george clooney, hypocrite, john kerry, john travolta, lexus, paul mccartney, prius, sarah larson, toyota