Environmental hypocrisy

Environmental hypocrisy is a subjective value judgement which purports to define the act of individuals and organizations who espouse sound sustainable environmental practice, acting contrary to this same practice.

It is also the act of so-called 'lip service', which in addition to the above definition, includes those individuals, organizations or corporations whose long term stance is often or always to protect other interests over the interests of the environment, who make statements purporting to support sound environmental practice, such as the 'environmental action' pamphlets released in southern states by George Bush senior's administration in the late 1980s. This latter definition encompasses a list of right wing politicos and organizations far too long to include here; the former list is shown by some of the more easily obtained examples.

And finally, it is also the very act of exposing environmental hypocrisy by those who themselves are working harder, politically and/or economically, to support the means of pollution, deforestation, etc, than they are at restricting or eliminating it.

Alleged environmental hypocrisy by individuals

James Cameron

Although James Cameron stated, "we are going to have to live with less" and supported government mandated reductions in energy use, Cameron himself owns three mansions with a total of more than 24,000 square feet in living space, and each of those mansions has its own swimming pool. Cameron also owns a 100-acre ranch in Santa Barbara, a JetRanger helicopter, a Corvette, three Harleys, a Ducati, a Ford GT, several dirt bikes, a yacht, a Humvee fire truck, and multiple submarines.

Laurie David

In an interview with The Guardian in November 2006, Laurie David acknowledged that owning two homes on opposite sides of the country and flying in a private jet several times per year is at odds with her message to others. In the interview she notes "Yes, I take a private plane on holiday a couple of times a year, and I feel horribly guilty about it. I probably shouldn't do it. But the truth is, I'm not perfect. This is not about perfection. I don't expect anybody else to be perfect either. That's what hurts the environmental movement – holding people to a standard they cannot meet. That just pushes people away."

In 2005, and then again in 2009, David was cited by the Chilmark Conservation Commission for paving over protected wetland areas on her estate at Martha's Vineyard.

Al Gore

Al Gore has been criticized for owning a private jet.

In July 2008 when Gore gave a speech on global warming in Washington D.C., he was criticized for bringing a fleet of two Lincoln Town Cars and a Chevy Suburban SUV, and for letting one of the vehicle's engine and air conditioner idle for 20 minutes.

Gore has been criticized for owning stock in Occidental Petroleum, a company which drilled for oil in ecologically sensitive areas. He was also criticized because a zinc mine on his property had polluted a nearby river.

Gore's Tennessee mansion uses 20 times as much electricity as the average U.S. home. Although Gore does purchase carbon offsets in an attempt to offset this, their effectiveness at protecting the environment has been considered questionable.

In 2010, Gore spent $8,875,000 on an ocean-view villa in Montecito, California.

In 2010, Gore admitted that his 1994 tie breaking vote as President of the Senate in support of Ethanol fuel subsidies was actually bad for the environment, and that he did it for political reasons.

Ted Kennedy

Ted Kennedy, who usually supported wind power, objected to a proposed wind farm that would have been located several miles from his Cape Cod home.

Although Kennedy referred to Nantucket Sound as "a national treasure," his yacht Mya was photographed dumping diesel fuel into those very same waters.

Barack Obama

In May 2008, Barack Obama said, "We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK."

However, one week later, Obama was photographed exiting an SUV. In addition, Obama keeps the White House thermostat turned up so high that David Axelrod, Obama’s senior adviser, said, "He likes it warm. You could grow orchids in there."

Furthermore, Wagyu beef, one of Obama's favorite foods, causes so much damage to the environment that is has been called "the Hummer of beef."

In addition, Obama had two chefs fly round trip from St. Louis to Washington D.C. so they could make Obama's favorite pizza.

Barbra Streisand

Although Barbra Streisand has urged others to reduce their consumption, her own annual water bill is $22,000.

Streisand also filed a lawsuit against a photographer who revealed to the world that Streisand's $10 million mansion was causing erosion of the Californian coastline.

John Travolta

Although John Travolta urged others to do their part to help the environment, Travolta's own use of his five private jets creates a carbon footprint of almost 100 times that of the average U.K. citizen.

Environmental hypocrisy by environmental organizations

Earth Day

At the 1990 Earth Day celebration in Central Park, New York, participants left 154.3 tons of garbage on the ground.

United Nations Climate Change Conference

2007

A November 25, 2007 article in Times Online reported that it was estimated that the 2007 United Nations Climate Change Conference would release the equivalent of 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide.

A December 18, 2007 article in the Sydney Morning Herald revealed new information that brought this total even higher. According to the article, a special custom air conditioning system was installed specifically for the conference. The air conditioning system used hydrochlorofluorocarbons, or HCFCs, an outdated refrigerant gas related to and with the same effect as the CFCs banned for use in hairspray, that destroys ozone and therefore the Ozone Layer. According to the article, the air conditioning used during the conference released the equivalent of 48,000 tons of carbon dioxide. The article stated, "... the refrigerant is a potent greenhouse gas, with each kilogram at least as damaging as 1.7 tonnes of carbon dioxide. Investigators at the Balinese resort complex at Nusa Dua counted 700 cylinders of the gas, each of them weighing 13.5 kilograms, and the system was visibly leaking."

2009

In an opinion column about the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference published by the New York Post, Charles Hunt wrote, "Some 40,000 tons of carbon will be spewed getting this crowd together and keeping them in comfort. That is the daily amount of carbon dioxide produced by 30 of the world's smaller countries, according to UN statistics."

According to The Daily Telegraph, it was predicted that the 2009 conference would involve the use of approximately 140 private jets and 1,200 limousines.

Environmental hypocrisy by corporations

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Although the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences urged its viewers to use mass transit, most of its members do not follow that advice.

Goldman Sachs

Although Goldman Sachs uses hybrid vehicles, some of those happen to be limousines.

Google

Althogh Google preached in favor of carbon neutrality, its two founders ride their own personal Boeing 767, which uses approximately 1,550 gallons of fuel per hour.