When it comes to saving the planet do celebrities practise what they preach?

[leobold1]

You hippy-crites! When it comes to saving the planet do celebrities practise what they preach? | the Daily Mail

Last updated at 00:28am on 6th May 2008

Is the hot air emitted by celebrities when they spout ecological platitudes a greenhouse gas?

If so, then the melting of the polar ice caps just moved a step closer, following calls by Trudie Styler, a leading celebrity ecological hypocrite - call them hippy-crites for short - for the general public to eat more locally grown vegetables.

Campaigning against food miles might seem an unlikely cause for Styler, given that a tribunal last year heard how she ordered her personal chef to travel over 100 miles to make a bowl of pasta for her youngest child and has sold olive oil and honey from her Tuscan estate, Il Palagio, 1,000 or so miles away, in Harrods in London.

So it was hardly surprising that an alert journalist present at the lecture, which was being staged as part of the Earls Court Real Food Festival, had the wit to question the environmental record of Styler and her husband Sting.

The couple's carbon footprint, the impertinent ink-stained wretch pointed out, has been estimated at 30 times greater than the average Briton's. How did Styler and Sting - who have seven homes - square that with their environmental crusading?

Styler conceded that as Sting "has a 750-person crew to bring around the world, it is a difficult challenge".

Her rare moment of ecological candour was shortly replaced by the more familiar self-congratulation and justification, however.

"I would like to think that we both work pretty hard for the rights of indigenous people and for the rights of conservation of the Amazon rainforest, but we do need to get around," she said.

Of course, Sting and Trudie's "do as I say not as I do" approach to the dilemma of environmental pollution is by no means unusual among the carbon-guzzling lifestyle of the celebrity elite.

Here's a roll call of some other startlingly hippy-critical celebrities:

Chris Martin

WHAT HE SAYS: The mild-mannered lead singer of Coldplay counteracts the environmental impacts of his band's tours and CD production by paying for mango trees to be planted in developing countries.

The theory is that the extra carbon emitted as a result of the band's activities will be soaked up by the extra tree growth.

WHAT HE DOES: According to singer Alison Goldfrapp, Martin flies home between gigs: "We supported Coldplay and Chris Martin used to fly home on his jet, go home, write songs then fly to the next gig. I thought: "What? Are you insane?"

Environmental campaigner George Monbiot says: "It's probably fair to assume he flies at least 100,000 miles (or ten return journeys averaging 10,000 miles each) in his private jet each year.

"If so - and even before taking the rest of his activities into account - he would be exceeding his fair share of carbon by 250 times."

Sadly, many of the 10,000 mango trees planted by carbon-offsetting firm Future Forests on Coldplay's orders to "offset" the carbon produced by the album A Rush Of Blood To The Head died.

Many experts now say carbon offsetting via tree planting is nothing more than a scam allowing rich polluters to feel better about themselves.

HIPPY-CRITE RATING: 5

Leonardo DiCaprio

WHAT HE SAYS: Pumped millions of his own money into producing the environmental documentary, The 11th Hour, due to be released on DVD next month, and claims that if we do not radically change the way we live right away, the Earth will be destroyed.

Like many Hollywood stars keen to flash their eco- credentials, he drives a hybrid petrol/electric car which uses less energy than a regular vehicle in cities by switching to battery power in heavy traffic.

He says: "I've been driving a hybrid car for five, six years now. My house is built green, I have solar panels."

WHAT HE DOES: Although he flew his family from Paris to Rome on a private jet in October 2006, since 2007, DiCaprio has been trying to live down the tag of "Leonardo the Learjet liberal" and publicly eschewed the use of the fuel-glugging private aircraft.

"I try as often as possible to fly commercially," he declared at the Cannes Film Festival last year. By Hollywood standards, that makes him a hairshirted hero - but of course there are times when only a private jet will do.

During an interview with his co-producers, one TV interviewer challenged DiCaprio to "take a pledge and promise never to get into a private jet again" - something he has so far been unwilling to do.

HIPPY-CRITE RATING: 2

Brangelina

WHAT THEY SAY: At first glance it seems that Pitt - who drives a hybrid Prius, has been a vocal and financial supporter of a drive to build eco-homes in flood-ravaged New Orleans and last year even guest-narrated a segment of green documentary called e2: The Economies Of Being Environmentally Conscious - is doing his bit to combat global warming.

"There's a lot of problems in the world right now because of our dependency on oil," Pitt gravely warned his fans in a recent interview.

WHAT THEY DO: In fact, Pitt and his partner Angelina Jolie are massive consumers of oil thanks to their addiction to private jet travel.

In 2007 they took literally dozens of such flights between them around the world. In August, Pitt flew from Chicago, where he was watching his partner work, to LA to perform jury duty and then flew back to Illinois the same day.

Recently, the couple touched down at Nice airport aboard their own "PJ" - burning an estimated 11,000 gallons of fuel on the trip from America.

Pitt would have to drive his Prius to the Moon to offset that. Oh - and did we mention that Jolie is pregnant again?

Soon it's going to require two people carriers just to get the multi-national Pitt- Jolie family as far as the airport.

HIPPY-CRITE RATING: 5

Madonna

WHAT SHE SAYS: After she headlined the London segment of last year's Live Earth concert, memorably derided by Matt Bellamy of rock band Muse as "private jets for climate change", she was lambasted not just for her giant carbon footprint but also for owning a share portfolio with more than £1million invested in oil exploration, mining and other environmentally unfriendly projects.

In the wake of the furore, her spokesperson issued a statement saying: "Madonna's agreeing to sing at Live Earth is merely one of the first steps in her commitment toward being environmentally responsible.

"She is educating herself and her family and has begun to make changes around her that reflect her awareness and concern for the future of the planet."

WHAT SHE DOES: Madonna's carbon footprint for 2006 was estimated at 1,018 tons - more than 100 times that of the average Briton.

And it seems the "changes" she is prepared to make do not extend to using ordinary airlines. For New Year she jetted to India with husband Guy Ritchie, her son and five friends in her own jet.

HIPPY-CRITE RATING: 4

John Travolta

WHAT HE SAYS: "Everyone can do their bit," Travolta said when he visited Britain last year to promote the launch of his little-seen movie Wild Hogs, and went on to declare that global warming is "a very valid issue - we have to think about alternative methods of fuel".

WHAT HE DOES: Travolta, a licensed pilot, owns five private planes - a customised £2million Boeing 707, three Gulfstreams and a Learjet - which he keeps in his garden next to a private runway.

When he was flying himself back to the U.S. the staggering scale of his environmental vandalism was revealed when he landed the 707 in Ireland to refuel and it was reported that he was the only person on board the flying stretch-limo. In a normal configuration, a 707 can carry 150 passengers.

HIPPY-CRITE RATING: 5

Barbra Streisand

WHAT SHE SAYS: "Everyone has the power to make a difference by making simple, conscious decisions in their everyday lives," Streisand writes on her website and then posts a list of "Simple Things We Can All Do To Help Stop Global Warming".

These include switching to modern long-life lightbulbs, cleaning the condenser coil on your fridge and waiting until you have a full load before running your dishwasher.

WHAT SHE DOES: No sign of Streisand cutting down on laundry.

On tour in the UK and Ireland last year, Streisand's contract specified that she required the production office be supplied with "120 bath-sized towels immediately upon arrival".

It was also revealed that the vehicle list for her show comprised "13 53ft semi-tractor trailers, four rental vans, 14 crew and band buses and one limousine".

And, of course, she made the 'simple, conscious' decision to travel all the way from Manchester to London aboard a private jet. Why don't I feel quite so guilty about switching on my half-empty dishwasher now?

HIPPY-CRITE RATING: 4

P.S. AND NOT FORGETTING...

WHAT HE SAYS: In a speech to the European Parliament, the Prince of Wales stirringly urged us to action, declaring: "I don't think there is a more urgent issue for any of us to be addressing at work, at home and indeed in every facet of our lives, than climate change."

Last year he was praised for publishing a "carbon audit" and said that he had reduced his emissions by 9 per cent, stating that his household - including his Duchy Organics farm business - would reduce emissions by 12.5 per cent over the next four years.

WHAT HE DOES: Stung by accusations of hypocrisy after he flew a 14-strong team first-class to New York to collect an environmental awareness award, Charles chartered the yacht Leander from car park tycoon Sir Donald Gosling to conduct his tour of the Caribbean in March.

Campaigners howled "greenwash" but Clarence House stuck to its claim that travelling on the sumptuous, £50million yacht with 23-man crew and 100-seater dining room reduced Charles's carbon footprint for the tour by 40 per cent.

Just don't mention his sons' jaunts around the country via Chinook helicopter.

HIPPY-CRITE RATING: 2

[Woodmonkey]

Why am I not surprised? Their guru, Al Gore, has set the path for them. We mere mortals are not supposed to look too closely at their lifestyle, but rather fawn at their words.

[Snowden]

It's what comes of a culture that's aimed toward celebrity worship -- and the Western world has become just that, it seems. Fortunately, some of us are immune and some are beginning to realize that those people are living lives that are contrary to everything they say. Not enough of us yet, but perhaps this perception will spread. I do hope so!