TV Series - Aug 29, 2022
Kardashians and Drake are reportedly among the worst polluters when it comes to short flights on private jets, according to a new analysis. During the past two months, Kardashian's private plane has made four short flights. A private plane belonging to her half-sister, Kylie Jenner, traveled twice as many. A flight between Van Nuys and Camarillo, California, took Ms. Kardashian's plane 40 miles and ten minutes. About the same amount of CO2 is released after a six-month drive in a gas-powered car using 81 gallons of fuel.
In general, celeb families dominated Summer CelebJets datasets. From 30 May to 24 July 2022, Kardashian and Jenner flew 12 times in under 20 minutes. They were not the only ones using private jets. The rapper Drake's customized Boeing 767 airliner, known as "Air Drake", also made five short flights. As a result of its size, Drake's plane emits the greatest amount of planet-heating emissions in the dataset.
An analysis of airline Boeing 767 emissions found that the plane emitted 21 tonnes of CO2 on five trips. The EPA says this is equivalent to four US homes' electricity use each year. Drake recently claimed that a flight flagged by CelebJets - an 18-minute trip between Hamilton, Ontario, and Toronto - was empty before the short flights began. The planes were just moved to whatever airport they were being stored at for anyone interested in logistics.
The boxer Floyd Mayweather and Steven Spielberg also reportedly flew on private planes over similarly short distances. Mayweather's plane made two short flights between Las Vegas-area airports on 17 July. For just over 20 miles, CelebJets said it used 124 gallons of fuel. The A-list emits even more pollution with their private jets.
The biggest emitter this year among CelebJets was pop star Taylor Swift, according to a separate analysis by Yard Group. Despite the dazzling lives of the rich and famous, they are a huge contributor to CO2 emissions from the aviation industry, Yard's sustainability director wrote. Flight accounts for 2.4% of human-produced CO2e every year, and research shows a wide gap between the super-rich and us." Taylor Swift's reps say the data doesn't reflect her travel entirely.
Taylor's jet is frequently loaned out. The Independent quoted a spokesperson as saying this is blatantly incorrect. Ms. Jenner, Ms. Kardashian, Drake, Mr. Spielberg, Mr. Wahlberg, and Mr. Mayweather have been contacted by The Independent. A UC Florida student coder runs the CelebJets account. With the help of publicly-available aviation data, he has been able to track Russian oligarchs and Elon Musk, who reportedly offered him $5,000 to stop posting his location.
The data does not cover all private jet flights. A private plane may also be flown without its owner for storage, repairs, or logistical reasons. Heated's Emily Atkin wrote, "This is climate dissonance," when analyzing the CelebJets data. Carbon-intensive behavior dazzles most people despite wanting to solve the ecological crisis. That's part of a warped 'American Dream' ideal, which emphasizes extravagant wealth over well-being. Since Kylie Jenner flew her $72 million Bombardier DB 700 plane outside Los Angeles earlier this month, there has been increasing interest in the private jet habits of the rich. CO2 emissions were about a tonne.
She and her partner, Travis Scott, also boasted about their private jets on social media. A few social media users reacted with disgust, calling her a "full-time climate criminal". Carbon elites generate massive, disproportionate carbon footprints, despite worsening climate impacts. According to the analysis of European flights over 500km, private jets create five to 14 times more emissions per passenger than mostly-full commercial planes. According to NGO Transport & Environment, private flights also create 50 times more pollution than a train. Half of the carbon dioxide released by flying comes from the richest one percent. According to Stefan Gössling, a transport researcher at Sweden's Lund University, air travel is changing.
source: independent
