Blimey, that’s a lot. 30 million miles further than the Sun. Commenter J.G. writes :
Fed up as I was with the constant bleating about man-made global warming we get on the BBC, I thought I would find out just what they are doing to help the planet. So I put in a FOI request asking about the air miles the BBC fly, the carbon that this produces, and how the BBC offsets this. Get ready for some amazing numbers (all relate to the last reporting year):
Total UK domestic flights: 17 million miles
Total European flights: 14 million miles
Other flights: 94 million miles
Total air miles: 125 million
Total cost: £15,147,000
TOTAL CO2 EMISSIONS: 25,676,000 Kgs
TOTAL CO2 OFFSET: 0 kgs. Yes, 0 Kg.
The FOI document is here.
POWER: GORE MANSION USES 20X AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD; CONSUMPTION INCREASE AFTER ‘TRUTH’
Mon Feb 26 2007 17:16:14 ET
The Tennessee Center for Policy Research, an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan research organization committed to achieving a freer, more prosperous Tennessee through free market policy solutions, issued a press release late Monday:
Last night, Al Gore’s global-warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, collected an Oscar for best documentary feature, but the Tennessee Center for Policy Research has found that Gore deserves a gold statue for hypocrisy.
Gore’s mansion, [20-room, eight-bathroom] located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES).
In his documentary, the former Vice President calls on Americans to conserve energy by reducing electricity consumption at home.
The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh—more than 20 times the national average.
Last August alone, Gore burned through 22,619 kWh—guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year. As a result of his energy consumption, Gore’s average monthly electric bill topped $1,359.
Since the release of An Inconvenient Truth, Gore’s energy consumption has increased from an average of 16,200 kWh per month in 2005, to 18,400 kWh per month in 2006.
Gore’s extravagant energy use does not stop at his electric bill. Natural gas bills for Gore’s mansion and guest house averaged $1,080 per month last year.
“As the spokesman of choice for the global warming movement, Al Gore has to be willing to walk to walk, not just talk the talk, when it comes to home energy use,” said Tennessee Center for Policy Research President Drew Johnson.
In total, Gore paid nearly $30,000 in combined electricity and natural gas bills for his Nashville estate in 2006.
For Further Information, Contact:
Nicole Williams, (615) 383-6431
editor@tennesseepolicy.org
http://drudgereport.com/flash.htm
Nice work J.G.
How many Beeboids went out to Davos for the World Economic Forum with Richard Sambrook?
Or the World Cup? Winter Olympics?
No carbon offsets while the likes of Alan Hansen and Ian Wright shuttle back and forth from Germany ’06?
Tut, tut!
This reminds me of when Prince Charles went to the US to see that concert and picked up an environment award afterwards. The BBC questioned if it wasn’t a bit hypocritical of him to fly to the US to pick up an environment award and they didn’t seem to be accepting “but I was also representing Britain at the concert” as an answer.
Rod Stewart had a go at the reporter asking if he was meant to use a boat.
But how could the BBC question whether or not it was worthwhile that Prince Charles went, when the BBC itself didn’t need to go at all and could have had ABC or someone to cover it for them. Of course, I’d much rather the British media covered the British royal family, but I wish the BBC would take a look in the mirror.
P.S.
Charles used a public jet, for a one off round trip, and attracted criticism. But Gore flies around in a private jet all the time and he’s fine by the BBC?
Also, I don’t know who it was, but one of the women on BBC News 24 said she lives in France but obviously must work at least a bit in London. How green is that?
I’m amazed by BBC record keeping. To what purpose ❓
Does anyone remember when the archives of the Beatles were released? The BBC kept none of the music but all of the lunch vouchers! :o(
Not bias; not incompetence. Just an amazing corporate mind set.
The revelations about the BBC’s air miles and Al Gore’s less than green homelife is so typical of the “do as I say” rather than “do as I do” attitude of those on the left. Will Al Beeb dare to criticize any individual or organization for being less than green now that those astounding figures have been released? I also wonder what proportion of flights were economy rather than business or first class?
Now, we can laugh at the BBC over this, but let’s try and offer some encouragement.
I trawled up this document, from 2001, with some hideously white person’s picture contained therein:
Click to access Environment_Report_2001.pdf
And it seems that the Beeb has managed to cut energy consumption by 26% in the BBC offices in Newcastle by modifying the air conditioning in that tropical hotspot.
Bravo!
SiN,
It’s time to start using the new Gore measurement system.
http://timblair.net/ee/index.php/weblog/comments/sustainable_al/#223190
I wonder what “carbon footprint” was left after the Marxists,darlings,Pallywood,do gooders had there get together….
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6390897.stm
Wasn’t Al Gore funny…….
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6396109.stm
But we all know what Al Beeb think of Mr Gore:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5348692.stm
I love the ironic comment: Chris Rapley of the British Antarctic Survey has pointed out, worst-case scenarios can turn out to be the ones that happen.
Except WMD’S in Iraq,North Korean missiles,Iranian military buildup,etc….
“It isn’t pollution that’s harming the environment. It’s the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.”
– Al Gore, Vice President
’nuff said?
Bio-
LOL
Are you serious?!
Was that done WITHOUT the simply “sidespitting” humour of “clever editing”.
We really are in trouble……
Ingsoc is doublethink,
Well, according to snopes it’s been credited to John F. Kerry, George W. Bush and Dan Quayle.
http://www.snopes.com/quotes/candidate.asp
http://www.gnu.org/fun/jokes/quotations.html
denied by Gore:
http://www.gargaro.com/notgore.html
“WMD’s in Iraq”
That were probably stamped ‘Made in America’.
“Iranian Military buildup”
All hail Aryan nuclear fission. Tony Blair has recently approved the purchase of all those Trident missiles – but that’s okay – we all know the President of Iran is an irrational savage where Bush and Blair are reasonable, rational, respectable leaders making tough decisions under duress.
“North Korean missiles”
For that one I have no sarcastic comments.
Chester-
Oh oh oh oh oh…..
I see that the little ones are out of Minitruths canteen.
1.And prey tell Chester,which weapons did the US actually sell?
2.And eeerrrr….we already have Trident.Next
3.Of course holocaust dinial and “distruction of Zion” speeches,being an ex-member of the Irainian Revolutionary Guard Corp,repressing of the student movement in Tehran when he was mayor,the rioting in Qom,Estfahan,the persicution of Christians,Jews,Sunni’s and anbody else that dosn’t fit in to this a man “worldview”.
Really that has all the hallmarks of a stable leader.
But seeing as you won’t believe me-
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/report/2004/isg-final-report/
http://www.csis.org/burke/iran
http://www.csis.org/burke/lessons/iran_iraq/
http://www.fas.org/irp/gulf/af/970211/970207_aadbc_001.html
http://fas.org/asmp/
http://www.fas.org/irp/world/iran/savak/index.html
And when you’ve finished that then we might have a chat about it….
Mind now-lots of big words in there.
Nice ‘balanced’ article and ‘non-weighted’ question posed by the BBC in respect of Ken’s environmental crusade…
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6399639.stm
Winston:
Hmmmm….was another of Uncle Ken’s idea’s was to by cheap oil of Comrade Hugo…..
A man that the El-Beeb love to fawn over.
No blood for oil there huh-
http://www.fas.org/blog/ssp/2006/12/venezuelas_military_buildup_wh.php
Trust Ken to jump on the next PC bandwagon to come along.
If he really wants to do something about energy consumption why not do like the Australians and propose an outright ban on those old fashioned, high consumption tungsten light bulbs and allow only long-life, low consumption flourescent bulbs in Londoners’ homes.
After all he’s big on all-out bans, as in motor cars.
Chester-Fish-O
Actually nearly all conventional weapons in Iraq, and the great majority of support for programmes of non-conventional weapons, came from Russia, China, France (e.g. a whole nuclear power station) and Germany (chemical weapon factory). Which, coincidentally, are the ones that refused to deal with their client state. Might have nothing to do with commercial interests, like US$50 bn oil contracts with a French company that has in the past bribed French and German government officials, I agree.
You’ve been sold a lie by the media, including the BBC. The US did not arm Iraq.
You see Chester, Richards on the money but it gets worse.
All those nice scientists from the old Warsaw Pact had no jobs,or refused jobs in the West (because we are big and nasty capitalists) and they took jobs instead in Sunny Iraq…
And for all those dollars they would teach the Iraqi’s about nasty chemical and biological weapons.
And the brilliant thing about it is that it could “disgised” as ligitimate industries,because the same things that cure sickness can be engineered to make them weapons.
Cholorine that can be used in water treatment can be made into crude bombs….
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6385033.stm
Research into cattle deseases like anthrax
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/world/2001/anthrax/default.stm.
Where did all these documents go BBC?
Where is the indepth coverage explaining to the British people about what Iraq’s weapons programmes were really about and where all the documents,scientists/techical staff and equipment go?
Strange,I don’t recall Al Beeb doing a follow up on the Conspiricy Files about the “continuing alligations of Iraq’s WMD programme and links to the insurgncy”
or “Al Qaeda’s WMD ambitions”
Go Beeb-Try some real investigative journalism for a change?
BTW-As for most “third world” countries,why buy expensive US and European arms when Chinese,Brazilian,Russian,Chiliean or North Korean weapons produces the same “bang” for cheaper bucks.
Useful when you want to arm your milita…..
Journalists!?!!
TRAVELLING!?!!!
Good Lord this country is going to the dogs. I blame PC and multiculturalism.
Doesn’t Anti-Auntie know better than to trust Murdoch sources on the conduct of their competitors?
Ooo, I made it to the front page, I feel strangely fulfilled 😀
I am glad, these beeboid eco-fascists are always having a go at people/companies for their ‘carbon footprint’, its about time their hypocrisy was exposed.
Bitte Ente Werfen:
Journalists!?!!
TRAVELLING!?!!!
I have nothing against journalists travelling – I object to the HYPOCRISY!
Someone mentions the BBC flying people back and forth from the world cup.
Well, the BBC also had one correspondent, who flew to each country that England played, so that we could see the reaction of people in the opposing country.
So, that means, flying from UK, to Paraguay, to Trinadad/Tobago, back to Europe for the Sweden match, and back out to South America for the Ecuador match, before returning to Europe for the Portugal game.
How many air miles is that?
Ich bin ein supa-troll!
Re: Arming of Saddam’s Iraq
When allied forces liberated Kuwait in 1991 they had to contend with AMX30 battle tanks and over 100 Mirage F1 fighter-bombers supplied by the french. And just whose personnel were on duty in that nuclear plant that Israel bombed in 1981? Were they american? British? I’ll give you a clue: their capital city rhymes with harris.
Chester-Fish-o you’re so right!
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/7/22/102249/246
How can a man who leads such an enlightened and progressive country as Iran where homosexuals are publicly hanged from cranes be possibly considered an ‘irrational savage.’
Only cultural imperialists could think such a thing.
He is brown skinned, stands up to the Great Satan and wants to kill all the jews so he ticks all your boxes of righteousness.
It’s Bush and Blair who are the evil ones!
You know what else? Iran – persia – is “aryan”, or caucasian if you prefer something with less racist baggage hung on it. There goes the race card…
Ahh..is the Beeboid still here.
Well this is what brave Iraqi’s under Saddam that did to those equally brave Iranian’s under the Mullah’s:
http://www.xseer.com/xdesign/gallery/iran-iraq-war.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/97/Iran-iraq-war-gas-masks.JPG/160px-Iran-iraq-war-gas-masks.JPG
http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/c/c9/250px-Halabjaattack.jpg
And to think all it took was a few factories making pesticides,and some rather clever men from the Warsaw Pact (with a little help of corrupt officals and other useful idiots from the West).
Bet you can’t wait until the Caliph comes…..
If we are prepared to leave aside the fine details of spaceflight and orbital mechanics and just consider the distance between Earth and Mars as a straight line then 125 million air miles is almost enough for a one way ticket to the Red Planet ( at the closest point between our two worlds )
I’m at a loss who should be sent there, there are so many deserving cases at the BBC. It would probably be cheaper to build a Beeboid Ark in Space than to support the corporation at their current level. Jonathan Wosses salary alone could probably fund the entire propulsion system, the Yanks put a man on the Moon for less than it takes the Beeb to produce a 3rd rate chat show.
Lets send them all to Mars, so they can extort money from the Martians, and call them racists in return.
the headline of this blogpost should be titled
“let them eat cake”
more apt i think.
“Where is the indepth coverage explaining to the British people about what Iraq’s weapons programmes were really about and where all the documents,scientists/techical staff and equipment go?”
indeed – i find it very odd that the BBC has managed to downplay bigtime the recent escalation to chlorine bombs in iraq.
http://www.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=chlorine+bomb+iraq&btnG=Search+News
“Lets send them all to Mars, so they can extort money from the Martians, and call them racists in return.
HSLD | 28.02.07 – 2:24 am |”
gives a whole new meaning to the “Red” planet.
>> gives a whole new meaning to the “Red” planet.
LOL 🙂
Well, the BBC also had one correspondent, who flew to each country that England played, so that we could see the reaction of people in the opposing country.
The Beeb’s World Cup coverage was bizarre – fly out Hansen, Wright, O’Neill, Shearer et al. to a glass studio in Berlin while a football match was taking place in — Munich/Stuttgart/etc.
So, if the ‘experts’ weren’t even attending the game and were reliant on the same TV pictures the rest of us were getting back in England, why the need to fly them out to Germany several times during the tournament?
They should have remained studio-bound in London while the games were being played with the only BBC staff attending games live being the Motson types in the commentary box and the touchline reporter getting the “lads battled hard”-type quotes as the players trudge off the field following another uninspiring effort.
Poor environmental example Auntie Beeb.
Anonymous | 28.02.07 – 9:21 am
You know, I really don’t mind the BBC spending oodles on air fares. Nor do I care if Linaker went to Berlin but not the matches.
I do, however, get seriously annoyed at being told that I’m destroying the planet, each time I go to work in my car, by such a bunch of profligate hypocrites.
Mr Troll er no Chester-Fish-o | 27.02.07 – 3:16 pm |
You forgot Britain’s contribution to the Iraqi armoury. 1 hunting rifle. Such baddies we are, hmmm?
Fat Controller..
Lets see what our “socalist” friends from China and the USSR were giving to Uncle Saddam…..
http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/2002/issue3/jv6n3a1.html
http://www.fas.org/irp/world/iraq/index.html
Or we would do if thousends of Jihaz al-Mukhabarat al-Amma,Fedayeen Saddam and RG documents suddenly disappeared?
Now I’m might a little paranoid,but it isn’t as though Saddam didn’t have plenty of warning that he might be invaded?
Spot who is disloyal here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/news/iraq_debate.shtml
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/americas/2006/11_september_five_years_on/default.stm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/recent/iraq/
etc,etc,etc…..
The BBC has a duty to cover climate change and the views of the scientific and political community have to sya about it. That doesnt make it hypocritical. Nor do I see what this has got to do with bias?
The BBC has programme with advice for those addicted to gambling, quite right as a Public Service Broadcaster. It also shows the Lottery and gives horse racing tips on the Today programme. Anyone who thinks this hypocritical, I would suggest doesnt understand the purpose of the BBC. Below is what they say about Carbon Offsetting et al:
The BBC is committed to a comprehensive environmental policy to minimise energy consumption; reduce harmful emissions, re-use, recover and reduce waste; use environmentally friendly transport and develop a corporate culture which takes green responsibilities seriously and look at ways to improve what we do • and how we do it. We already use green ‘renewable’ electricity, covering 95 per cent of UK operations, and have embarked on an ambitious energy efficiency programme which will further reduce electricity consumption by at least 3 per cent year on year over the next 4 • 5 years. All new BBC buildings and refurbishments adhere to strict guidelines to minimise their environmental impact. For example, the BBC’s White City Media Village, in West London, has achieved an excellent BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) rating. Strenuous efforts have also been made to use environmentally friendly transport. Contracts with London transport suppliers stipulate that 40 per cent of their fleets use green/alternative fuel vehicles. We aim to increase this to 60 per cent. We also run shuttle buses to reduce cab use and have introduced a cab share scheme. Carbon offsetting remains a contentious issue. If the BBC is to cover events in, and make programmes about, the rest of the world then some level of overseas travel is inevitable. The BBC does not currently offset against flights as we do not believe it represents a good use of the licence fee. However, as part of our environmental strategy review, we will be looking at offsetting as part of a wider package of measures. This will look to improve on the 40 per cent of waste we already recycle. Last November the ‘Green Office’ campaign, which introduced binless offices and encouraged staff to turn off unused lights and computers, reduced CO2 emissions by 2.6 tonnes a day in London and Scotland. The BBC is working towards exceeding UK environmental industry standards and control its most significant environmental risks and further minimise its impact on the environment. But environmental policies at the BBC are only part of the story and we can all do our bit.”
“The BBC has a duty to cover climate change and the views of the scientific and political community have to sya about it.”
Yes they do – but they also have a duty of impartiality– Scientists who take the view that global warming is due to increased solar activity – hardly get a mention. It is not a “fact” that GW is caused by man-made emmisions. Yet the BBC always give a slanted political view of it.
“The BBC is committed to a comprehensive environmental policy to minimise energy consumption; reduce harmful emissions, re-use, recover and reduce waste; use environmentally friendly transport and develop a corporate culture which takes green responsibilities seriously and look at ways to improve what we do • and how we do it.”
So not only are they not impartial they are also hypocrites.
125 million miles and not a single reporter in our next door neighbour, Ireland, on St Paddys day.
watch out for it – March 17th.
i commented on that last year on this blog. seriously – watch out for it. its a small thing admittedly, but it does show the myopic focus of the BBC on stuff that really doesnt matter to the vast majority of British people. Brits go in their droves to Dublin for March 17th.
watch out for Oktoberfest coverage as well. you’ll find none.
archduke says:
“125 million miles and not a single reporter in our next door neighbour, Ireland, on St Paddys day.”
Thats nothing wait for April 23 and all we will get from the BBC is “Should we change England’s patron saint with Billy Bragg” – and they don’t even have to fly anywhere to celebrate it.
Pete,
The BBC’s stated policy from your link sounds wonderfully earnest and pious, including this bit:
If the BBC is to cover events in, and make programmes about, the rest of the world then some level of overseas travel is inevitable.
So I take it then that it was inevitable that Orla Guerin had to fly up from Johannesburg, where she is based, to join in the BBC’s delirious Israel-bashing fest during the war. Apparently the BBC didn’t have enough “journalists” following Hezbollah around like puppy dogs and apparently there was nothing worth reporting back in Johannesburg at the time.
It’s all bluff and bullsh*t. The BBC will push its devious agenda no matter the cost to the environment and the British license payer.
St. Patrick was British, not Irish. His colour was blue, not green. He rests today in a Protestant churchyard, in the British province of Northern Ireland.
No wonder the BBC are reluctant to cover him.
Wahoo, word is spreading
Daily Mail picks up story
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/columnists/columnists.html?in_article_id=439339&in_page_id=1772&in_author_id=
and BBC Editors blog even has to mention it
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2007/03/bbc_in_the_news_thursday_39.html
Good, their hypocrisy needs exposing.
” The Guardian of Hypocrisy”(1 Mar.)
http://dailyablution.blogs.com
Airline greenhouse gas emissions amount to a negligible 3% of total global emissions. All this talk of the dangers of increasing use of low cost travel is simply aimed at guilt tripping us into stumping up the extra taxes on this form of travel.
I have just checked on the cost of a return flight between Birmingham and Toulouse. Of the £163 total cost not less than £51 is required in “charges”!
The BBC is a cheerleader for this latter day form of Corn Laws type exploitation.
The truth behind it all is, the rif-raff are getting to experience the world and ruining all the good holiday spots for the idle socialist rich. Compare and contrast the barons who ruled in liege to William the Conqueror who, when faced with their new english peasnatry, who were able to afford rather fine clothing and expensive food – in stark contrast to the french villeins they were used to – demanded and receive the right to raise punitive taxes and declare the uppity peasants on their newly acquired lands as their property so they could simply ban them from buying anything that wasn’t approved by the new rulers.
In fact the comparisons between those barons and the current crop are more striking the more you dig in to it. Yet your typical BBC type would balk at the comparison.
Irony? You betcha…
The Gore hypocrisy story gets even better.
Seems he buys his ‘carbon offsets’ from his own company, and directly benefits from GW hysteria … bwahahaha!
125 million miles…
this weekend is the weekend of the Rio Carnival in Brazil. you know -samba + millions of people. pretty big cultural event. worthy of reporting dont you think?
http://travel.independent.co.uk/americas/article2321215.ece
here’s the BBC americas news page:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/default.stm
” Gordon | 02.03.07 – 2:14 pm | ”
i read an interview with Michael O’Leary of Ryanair where he stated that his eventual aim is to offer free flights – so that the entire cost of the flight is “taxes and charges”. that’ll really put the tax question full centre in the view of his customers.
i tried this out on his website a few weeks ago – 69p flight to Prague, and which ballooned to about 70 quid because of “taxes and charges”.
“St. Patrick was British, not Irish. His colour was blue, not green. He rests today in a Protestant churchyard, in the British province of Northern Ireland.
No wonder the BBC are reluctant to cover him.
pedant | 01.03.07 – 5:14 pm ”
he was a Romano-Briton, so his “colour” was imperial purple, if one is to really attach a color to him. He wasnt of Anglo-Saxon stock, but from the original British Celts , apparently.
Lived in Wales at the time of his enslavement to Irish pirates.
But the main reason why the BBC ignore is nothing to do with whether he is buried in a Protestant cemetary or not (for Protestantism didnt exist until about 1000 years after his death) – but its more to do with what is the current “trendy” victim group for the BBC. the very lack of reporting on the St Patricks day parade in Dublin, exposes the BBC lie that it is an impartial purveyor of solid news. it isnt – their “news” is viewed through their prism of current leftist trendy “causes”. an entirely unbiased news service, would cover such events – and it would also cover events such as Oktoberfest in Germany (and other events.)
again , i point out – this weekend is the weekend of the Rio carnival in Brazil.
here’s the BBC Americas page:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/default.stm
i rest my case.