What Does the Air Force One's New York Photo Opportunity Say About Mr. Obama's Environmental Values?
Posted: Sunday, May 03, 2009
by Joel Kontinen
http://joelkontinen.blogspot.com/
President Barack Obama is officially known to be a firm believer in man-made global warming. But his deeds do not always seem to match his ideals. Like Al Gore, of An Inconvenient Truth fame, he is not exactly reluctant to travelling by air in more comfort than the average taxpayer. When it comes to protecting the environment, some individuals are obviously more equal than others in evading their share of the collective responsibility.
The official explanation for the Manhattan adventure was a wish to get some photographs of the President's plane over New York City.
Flying an empty Boeing 747 low over Manhattan for a leisure photo opportunity suggests a lack a tact, to say the least, when people all over the world are trying to minimize their carbon footprint. Issuing apologies afterwards does not help much, either.
If Mr. Obama really wanted a picture of the Statue of Liberty for his collection, he could have taken a helicopter tour over southern Manhattan instead. It would have cost much less. And if he really wants to do something that does not hurt the environment and his reputation - as much as sending an empty jumbo jet to cause panic in New York City, he should probably cease using Air Force One altogether and travel on commercial airlines instead.
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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)I hadn't considered the environmental impact of this stunt, yet you raise an interesting point. Another example of 'do as I say, not what I do', something many extreme environmentalists take as their motto. I'm all for recycling and reducing waste, yet there is no chance I will pollute as much as those in power. Of course, much of that pollution is hot air, but you know what I mean . . .Well done.Thanks Michael. Yes, a 747 is not the most eco-friendly plane around.Regards,Joel
How much waste is made in the pursuit of "photo ops?" Great article ...Thanks, Ken. The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind.regards,Joel
What we need is an affirmative action president, who dresses in khaki fatigues, wears a beard and smokes cigars. Then, you know he means what he says!Seriously, Jimmy Carter wore blue jeans, rode around in a compact and put solar panels on the White House roof. Ronald Reagan rode in in a limo, and promptly took the solar panels down. We need someone like Ronald Reagan, who can tell us there is no energy problem, no global warming, no problems whatsoever that rich people can't bribe their way out of.Thanks, anon. Perhaps "change" does not mean the same to all people.
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