When will celebrities realize that their fame alone will not fix the problems of pollution and global warming? If the recent actions of one Sir Paul McCartney are anything to go by, it won’t be anytime soon.
The ex-Beatle has been working with Lexus to hype its “somewhat” environmentally friendly new LS600h hybrid sedan. As a gift for his “charity” work, Lexus sent him a brand new LS. But instead of ferrying it to the U.K. by boat as is the norm for most un-celebrated customers, Lexus decided to ship it by air on a Korean Airlines flight.
The problem with this air freight approach was that in doing so Lexus inadvertently upped the “carbon footprint” of the eco-friendly luxo-mobile by a huge margin. To put it in real terms, shipping the Lexus would have created 379kg CO2 while the overnight mail air shipping caused a footprint of 38,050kg.
Say it ain’t so, Sir Paul!
To put it in really real world terms, we look to a comment made by Mike Rigby, the director of CO2balance.com: “That is the equivalent of driving the car around the world six times!” That’s a whole lot of driving!
While Paul McCartney himself did not release a public statement, his camp did say that the singer was “horrified” that his new ride had been shipped to him in such a manner. It did not say, however, that he was going to refuse the vehicle or do something nice like turn it into an environmentally responsible composting station.
Not to harp on the total hypocrisy of Sir Paul hawking the leather covered new LS600h but we have to wonder if he has completely abandoned his once strict Veganism. Where does he think all that leather comes from? A plant?
In addition, there is the whole notion that planes, both private and commercial, pump out far more greenhouse gasses than whole cadres of automobiles. And while the new LS600h does manage to get approximately 5 mpg more than its gas only sibling, a large luxury limo in not exactly light on the planet’s precious resources. How many trees have to die in one year to accommodate all that wood trim in every Lexus model made?
As a comment, one Paddy Gillett of the anti-aviation lobby group Plane Stupid, said: “For anyone to pretend that a private limousine is in any way eco-friendly is like pretending a private jet is. It’s total greenwash.” Greenwash? Nice word usage, Paddy.
Paul McCartney once famously sang the lyrics, “Baby You Can Drive My Car/ Babe You’re Going to Be a Star.” Should he really have said something more along the lines of, “Lexus You Can Fly My Car/ I Need it Now Cause I am a Star?"