Letters to the Editor
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Okay, as long as he doesn't serve sea bass.
[no text]
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The real purpose of environmentalism
Any time environmentalism is defined as deprivation, it dooms itself to failure.
Environmentalism isn't about turning people into saints. Rather, it's about finding ways to do those things we want to do in a way that's less harmful to the environment.
It's not hypocrisy, as much as the right-wing pundits would like it to be. It's realism. Rich people are going to fly private jets. Middle-class people are going to want bigger homes. The environmental movement needs to embrace those urges:
You want a bigger home? Okay. Let's make sure it has proper insulation. Let's double-pane those windows. Let's install compact-flourescent light bulbs. Let's build a public transportation infrastructure around that new home. Now that bigger home can use less energy than the smaller one you moved out of.
Similarly, you want to fly that private jet? Okay. But let's see you use all that excess wealth to do some good, too ...
Oh, wait, Larry Page is already doing that.
Nevermind.
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What's so special about weddings?
Why are weddings so sacrosanct, anyway? If he spent millions of dollars to throw a big party for no real reason other than to just be decadent, he'd be crucified. But since there's a lady in a white dress, it's okay...
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Henry is dead on here
"Cut down, not out" is another way of looking at it. It gets a little tiring to hear from the anti-enviros a dis on someone because they (gasp!) aren't perfectly green. No one that I know is saying we need to live in caves, wear hair shirts and eat grubs. You know, there is a lot of room between that and what we're doing now, and *that* is where the goal lies.
Sometimes, I wonder if the dis'ers just want an excuse - kind of like the dieters who eat a cookie & declare "that days a loss" so they can pig out at the BBQ joint. If so & so isn't perfect, why should they even try?
I mean, goodness, I refill the gas tank in my 35 mpg Civic every 4-5 months, carpooling in our EV the rest of the time. Goodness, gas consumption! I might just as well be driving a Hummer, eh?
And yet, that is *precisely* what I see.
Sometimes I just think we're doomed.
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Green purism
Seems like the least they could have done was chartered one big jet for everybody. "Jetpooling," I suppose.
However, I agree with what you say. Its so easy to accuse greens of hypocricy because its so dang hard, if not impossible, to be 100% enviro-friendly. Conervatives and anti-envirnomentalists love to point out examples of this hypocrisy as if it proves something (and some Greens like to do it to feel superior). The fact is, while we should all be conscious of our personal impact and do as much as we can, this is one of those problems whose solution requires collective action. 10 million absolutely pure envirnomentalists won't change much, but 300 million generally lazy, instant gratification-seeking Americans who are willing to make some strategically thought out changes and sacrifices collectively could help a whole lot.
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It depends on what the definition of be be.
If the corporate motto were "Do No Evil," maybe Jeff Matthews would have a point. But "Don't Be Evil" allows Page some wiggle room for reality.
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Andrew
I am constantly impressed by your analysis of these types of stories.
Right on.
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Brutal reality: the only way for you to be 100% eco-friendly is...
..to commit suicide.
Strange, but true - the only way to have a zero carbon footprint in this world is to remove oneself from the world.
In the absence of this admittedly harsh (but effective) step: do not have any kids.
Even if they eschew all fuel-based transport and walk wherever they go; even if they are level 5 vegan (i.e. not eating anything which casts a shadow), and even if they live in the forest, your spawn will still consume. And, heck: their unavoidable flatulence will add methane to the atmosphere, exacerbating global warming.
So please, EVERYONE - stop having kids. I'm dead serious (no pun intended). It really is the best thing we can do for Earth.
Cheers,
your friendly neighborhood Earth Firster
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leadership lifestyle
The problem is not that somebody slips up. It is that Page is a celebrity of sorts, and his wedding embodies a certain aspect of the American dream, a completely unsustainable Gatsby vision of fabulous parties in far-flung locales. That's different than a car with shitty mileage.
The average person won't remember the carbon offsets, they will remember the glamorous photos of Caribbean sunsets in In Style.
This notion of deprivation is a fallacy. If I give up my car and live somewhere that encourages public transportation, I'll personally have fewer breathing problems, and local health care costs might go down.
There is a huge problem with Al Gore's giant Tennessee home in the suburbs to which he drives in his Cadillac. And all the offsets and insulation and mitigation technology will not take the place of living more simply, because people not just in our country, but in India and China and the rest of the developing world will see that huge house and find it inspirational, and set a goal of material satisfaction without caring about the bamboo flooring inside.
We need to rethink the debate, and consider what we actually need. The current climate crisis should force us to ask hard questions. Do I really need to buy that Wii just because my friends have it? Should I rely on new technologies, with their concomitant mined minerals and occasionally toxic chemicals, just so that I can continue my current lifestyle?
I don't discount any corporate philanthropy or green innovation. But if our leaders would consider leading by example we might not find ourselves in such a mess.
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Jesus had it right
Let those without sin cast the first stone.
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Don't be exceptionally evil
Along the lines of the "lifestyle leadership" described above, this action can also be criticized as being exceptionally destructive. Of course, "normality" is in the eye of the beholder, but even these super-rich guys are probably aware that very few people have the luxury of flying private jets, let alone flying an entire party to a Caribbean island via private jets. There's no expectation that they should live in caves, but maybe they don't have to be so extravagant.
Anyway, this isn't a big deal. They are people, not angels. Don't idolize them and you won't be disappointed.