In looking up the Channel 4 series mentioned in the latest RA Lightning Round I read a piece about it in the Independent. The piece ends with noting that famous people are jumping on the vegan/vegetarian bandwagon (not that they put it quite like that). The very last sentence was priceless.
“Meanwhile, Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton said this week that the “only way to save the planet” is for people to adopt a vegan diet.”
Naturally, I laughed outloud. The sheer, monumental lack of self awareness is truly staggering. A Formula 1 driver, lecturing the rest of us on protecting the environment. I’m not just talking about the piddling amount of pollution from the 6 mpg cars, it’s the whole F1 circus as it travels the globe. I’ll let Steve Hanley of CleanTechnica explain.
“They each lug between 50 and 100 tons of cars, spare parts, and equipment to each of the 21 races on the calendar, covering more than 110,000 air miles every year. That teams don’t just travel with cars and mechanics. They bring ostentatious mobile headquarters and hospitality centers with them everywhere they go to impress local dignitaries and their high roller sponsors.
110,000 miles times 10 teams equals 1,100,000 miles. A 747 burns 5 gallons of jet fuel for every mile it flies. That’s 5.5 million gallons of jet fuel just to fly back and forth to races. Add in another 25% to get to testing venues, promotional events, and other special activities and you’re up to almost 7 million gallons. And that still doesn’t account for emissions from the factories, wind tunnels, and the 300 to 600 employees each team employs.
A gallon of jet fuel creates 21 pounds of carbon dioxide when it is burned, according to the Energy Information Agency. 21 pounds times 7 million gallons equals — wait, I have to get out my Radio Shack calculator for this one — a staggering 147 million pounds of carbon dioxide just so Formula One can bring “the show” to fans all over the world. The cars could be powered by pixie dust and Formula One would still be one of the biggest polluters on Earth.”
Don’t get me wrong, I’m no Green puritan trying to kill F1 and spoil the fun. I just find it amazing that Lewis Hamilton could come out with such hypocritical rubbish and that the Independent could just repeat it without comment. As Bill has said before, mouthing the right empty platitudes means you will be left alone by the piranhas of the left/media complex. Own a £16.5 million private jet and earn you living in F1, fine, if you say we all need to turn vegan to save the planet. Have the sexual morals of a demented alley cat with a taste for kittens? Fine, so long as you support abortion.
I couldn’t resist. I signed up so I could add to the comments section. My comment is here.
“I’m assuming the last sentence about Lewis Hamilton was included as satire. Quite why we need to be told the dietary/ecological musings of a man whose undoubted expertise is in driving a very expensive car around a track is unclear to me.
I’m more clear that I’m not inclined to be lectured on environmental matters by a man whose personal and professional life gives him a carbon footprint marginally smaller than Swindon’s. Give up the £16.5 million private jet and get a job driving busses, then tell me to give up sausages.”
For those that don’t know, Swindon is a southern English town of some 180,000+ souls. So far far mine is the only comment. Feel free to drop in and add yours, or to defend me when the left/liberal/green vultures descend upon me.
Do you remember when saying someone was “green” meant that they were inexperienced, naïve and easily fooled? Plus ça change…
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