Energy

‘A Lot Of Sacrifice And Suffering’: Study Shows That Enviros Want To Fly In Gas-Guzzling Airplanes

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Michael Bastasch DCNF Managing Editor
Font Size:

Environmentalists may claim flying airplanes is driving catastrophic global warming, but fear of dangerous warming isn’t enough to get them to stop flying, according to new marketing research.

“Green consumers today find themselves in an unenviable position,” reads a new report by researchers from the U.K. and New Zealand. “They are caught between two competing travel ideals and policymakers have handed them the responsibility for arbitrating between them.”

The study, published in the Journal of Marketing Management, interviewed 29 so-called “green consumers” in the U.K. to see why these supposedly eco-conscious individuals chose to fly even though they believe their activity is driving global warming.

“Despite their self-identification as green consumers and their clear view that flying harms the environment, decisions around air travel were not straightforward for most of the individuals who were interviewed,” researchers found. “Many of them stated their principles quite clearly, but then went on to describe an involved and problematic process when referring to specific (non) purchase decisions.”

One environmentalist thought there’s “a lot of sacrifice and suffering is involved” in not flying.” Another argued travelling from Scotland to London was much cheaper than the train: “The reason we did it was because it was the cheapest option, which was crazy, the train was three times as much as the flight.”

What’s more interesting is that some respondents justified their flights by the fact they worked to promote green technology in the third world. One interviewee said, “I have flown three times over four years to do international work on sustainability with the [developing nation] government, which I think is justified.”

“[M]aybe if I’d been good all year… Father Christmas would let me have one flight!” One environmentalist told researchers. “I’ve earned it from all of the things that I have done, whether it be recycling, composting, wood burning, solar panels, cycling to work when I can and just saving all that carbon and thinking that I have lived a relatively low carbon lifestyle for ‘x’ amount of time, if I do the sums I work out that I can fly once every three years within my personal carbon allowance.”

Airplane flights has been the Achilles heel of the environmental movement, as many of the world’s top activists have been caught flying private jets or frivolously flying all while preaching that the world needs to get off fossil fuels.

Celebrities like Leonardo Dicaprio and Harrison Ford have been criticized for flying while sounding the alarm on global warming. Ford, for example, sent a message to the United Nations this year urging countries to sign onto a global climate treaty.

But Ford himself has described his love of taking joyrides in his personal airplane. The aging actor has even said he likes to “often fly up the coast for a cheeseburger.”

It wasn’t long ago that an executive of Greenpeace, the world’s most notorious environmental group, was caught commuting 250 miles to work everyday by airplane. The Greenpeace executive flights came as the group advertised on their website that “Air traffic is top of the league of climate-killers.”

For years, governments have been looking to clamp down on carbon dioxide emissions from airplanes. The European Union already taxes the CO2 from airline travel, and the United Nations is working on ways to make such a scheme cover more of the world.

In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency has begun an investigation into the impacts of airline CO2 emissions on human health — despite the fact that CO2 is not a pollutant. The agency says U.S. airliners make up 0.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Follow Michael on Facebook and Twitter

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.