Tuesday, December 8, 2009

The hypocrisy of Sir Richard Branson (and Tim Flannery)


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Sir Richard Brazen, the only global warming crusader to own an airline, says he in particular must cut emissions:
And here’s his latest “something” on emissions:
Virgin Atlantic has unveiled the world’s first commercial passenger spaceship… The company hopes the winged, minivan-sized SpaceShipTwo will rocket tourists into zero gravity beginning within two or three years.

“This will be the start of commercial space travel,” Virgin Atlantic Airways founder and billionaire Richard Branson ...
And who is Brazen’s partner in this gassy green crime?
Australia’s most famous environmentalist, Tim Flannery, has lent his name to a scheme by the world’s most infamous self-publicist, Richard Branson, to burn untold tonnes of greenhouse gases so rich people can become space tourists. Flannery yesterday defended his new role as an “environmental consultant” to Branson’s Virgin Galactic venture, which aims to sell space trips to civilians.
It continues to amaze me that anyone still takes these characters seriously.

But what matters is seeming green, not actually doing it. And Brazen does his best to do that seeming:
He told the students sustainability continued to be a major part of business, but urged more big companies to follow his lead… “I try to do a lot about it.” As part of his environmental efforts, he said his company had recently succeeded in making a bio-fuel made from coconut oil which was capable of keeping a commercial airliner in the air.
So how are his coconut oil plans working out? Well, not so good, actually:
More to the point is Branson’s airline, Virgin Atlantic… Its website says its carbon dioxide emissions are currently approaching 4.8m tonnes. This is up from 4.2m tonnes five years ago…

Virgin Atlantic has a “flight plan in place to reduce our impact on the environment”. But this does not include cutting emissions. It means a “30% improvement in the fuel efficiency of our fleet between 2007 and 2020”. Which of course would be neutralised by a 30% increase in flights, something that, on recent trends, is likely to be an underestimate
You see, Brazen is all hot air:

Remember his last great green initiative - a new resort for warmist believers?
Branson said the eco-resort’s buildings would capture cool thermal airflows, eliminating the need for air conditioners. The guests’ food would come from an organic orchard, and beach buggies would be powered by biofuels.
The catch? Brazen’s resort is in the Caribbean. At the end of a gassy plane ride.

Posted via email from Garth's posterous

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