WhatFinger


The media's and particularly broadcast networks' lack of coverage of this hypocrisy is inexcusable

Frequent Flyers: Climate Scientists and Celebrities



Flying is in general the most carbon intensive way to travel per mile, and the fact that even climate change scientists have a difficult time cutting back on their air miles underscores the dilemma that can exist between fighting climate change and adding to it. 1 Climate researchers travel and fly more than those who work in other disciplines.
A study surveyed more than 1,400 scientists across disciplines from 59 countries to find out how often they fly and why. The surveys were conducted in 2017 before the coronavirus pandemic caused widespread travel restrictions. Most respondents were from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Australia. 2 Climate experts—who accounted for about 17% of respondents—take five flights per year on average, whereas researchers who specialize in other fields took four. Climate scientists also fly more often for work than their peers, but take fewer international flights for personal reasons, Air travel becomes more frequent with job seniority across all disciplines, with climate change professors flying on average nine times per year, and those in non climate disciplines flying eight times. Although the difference isn't enormous, it adds up to a “colossal amount of flying,” says Lorraine Whitmarsh, an environmental psychologist at the University of Bath, UK, who led the study. “These figures are really quite stark, I think, and should be a wake up call for all of science.” Part of the survey's findings can be explained by the amount of field work that climate research demands, Whitmarsh says, often in remote locations. But she and her colleagues accounted for this in their study, and still found that climate researchers travel by air more frequently. 2 The study also showed that climate researchers are more likely to try to mitigate the damage of flying by buying carbon offsets. Some 44% of climate scientists and 26% of non-climate scientists said they had done this at least once. And almost 30% of climate scientists said they had chosen not to travel for work because of the carbon footprint, compared with just 5% of non-climate scientists.

Support Canada Free Press


Celebrities Lead the Pack

Then there are celebrities, A number who don't 'walk the walk' when it comes to climate change—they just 'talk the talk.' These prominent personalities demand people scale back their lifestyles and accept Spartan living. All the while these same celebrities enjoy rich and lavish lifestyles in huge mansions, private jets and yachts. 3 The Media Research Center released a 26-page report on environmental hypocrites who don't follow what they preach. The report features 12 celebrities, and it states there are many more. Those who were chosen to highlight the hypocrisy include: Leonardo DiCaprio, Al Gore, James Cameron, John Travolta, Ariana Huffington, Woody Harrelson, Ian Somerhalder, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mark Ruffalo, Matt Damon and Cameron Diaz. 4 Here are some who have a rating of 5, which is the most hypocritical rating given in the report: Leonardo DiCaprio, who lectured us on global warming when he received an Oscar, is a classic example of a celebrity climate change phony. He cruises in his private yacht, or visits among the four houses he owns scattered on both US coasts, and seems to think that his own air travel doesn't affect the environment, whereas it does for other people. He even told the German Daily Bild that he planned to travel around the world doing good for the environment. His private jet's carbon emissions can be more than 37 times higher than those produced by flying commercial.

James Cameron owns three houses in Southern California that take up more than 24,000 square feet combined and each have heated swimming pools but are sorely lacking in a single energy saving device such as solar. He has been outspoken against those skeptical of climate change calling them 'slime' and 'boneheads' that he wanted to 'shoot it out with.' He told the Los Angeles Times that we're going to have to live with less to combat climate change while he lives in luxury. John Travolta owns 5 private jets and a Florida mansion with two runways. According to the London Evening Standard, despite telling British fans to 'do their bit' to tackle global warming, Travolta has been clocking many travel miles, producing an estimated 800 tons of carbon emissions –nearly 100 times the average Briton's tally. The media's and particularly broadcast networks' lack of coverage of this hypocrisy is inexcusable. An example: when DiCaprio stood in front of the UN and suggested taxing the fossil fuel industry out of existence, ABC's Good Morning America called him 'incredibly committed' and praised him for advocating bold changes to tackle climate change and for 'not just talking the talk.' 4

References

  1. Bryan Walsh, “Climate scientists are frequent flyers,” axios.com October 31, 2020
  2. Lorraine Whitmarsh et al., “Use of aviation by climate change researchers: structural influences, personal attitudes, and information provision,” Global Environmental Change, 65, 102184, (November, 2020)
  3. Pierre Gosselin, “Shameful celebrities preach low-energy lifestyles but in fact have monster carbon dioxide emissions,” notrickszone.com, March 7, 2016
  4. Mike Ciandella, “Climate Hypocrites,” Media Research Center, February 2016


View Comments

Jack Dini -- Bio and Archives

Jack Dini is author of Challenging Environmental Mythology.  He has also written for American Council on Science and Health, Environment & Climate News, and Hawaii Reporter.


Sponsored