Voices

Celebrities overconsume and lose climate-change credibility

I have to wonder if the hypocrisy of some of the “leaders” of the “climate change/global warming” movement has turned a lot of people off of the underlying message.

Al Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio (who attended the People's Climate March) certainly have no business telling all of us average families - who live in a single home and likely drive a used car - to downsize our lives and conserve more when they do not do so themselves.

Who needs a 10,000-to-20,000-square-foot McMansion? Who needs four (or more) vacation homes on different continents? Who needs a limousine, a car collection (including fast gas-guzzlers), a private jet, or a yacht?

Average people have none of the above, yet many rich and famous people preach to us without regard for their own enormous carbon footprints.

Those who are passionate about consumerism should demand that those most vocal in the movement (and most visible) start living a life conducive to the message. You cannot preach about changing the way everyone else lives without showing by example that you believe it yourself.

Nearly all celebrities and athletes lead lives rich in over-consumption, taking way more than they actually need for living and transportation, then claim they care about the environment. Just downsizing the lives of the rich and famous would go a long way toward cutting carbon emissions in the U.S.

Until the rich and famous (self-proclaimed) environmentalists start proving they are willing to severely downsize their lifestyles, most of us average citizens believe we are doing enough.

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