Transport 2k want Palin out!
Discussion
Ben Webster in The Times said:
Globetrotter Palin brought down to earth by eco-lobby
MICHAEL PALIN is facing moves to oust him as president of a leading environmental group because of his passion for long-distance air travel.
The Times has learnt that senior members of Transport 2000, which campaigns for sustainable travel and against growth in flights, believe that Palin sets a poor example.
He has flown more than a quarter of a million miles in the past 17 years while making his six TV series, which began in 1988 with his attempt to retrace the fictional footsteps of Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days. He has travelled across every continent, visited both poles and, most recently, climbed the Himalayas.
On screen he is seen riding dog sleds, camels, elephants and hot-air balloons. But few viewers will have realised how many air miles he clocked up making the programmes. For the Himalayas series alone, Palin made seven return trips between London and Asia. His share of the carbon dioxide emissions of those flights was 24 tonnes, 12 times more than the average car emits in a year.
Palin recently admitted that he had spent the past 17 years “busy polluting this environment on almost every conceiv- able form of carbon-emitting vehicle”. But he also claimed that his adventures reduced overall greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging people to remain on their sofas.
He told a recent environmental conference: “I shall continue to make travel programmes, secure in the knowledge that the food I’m seen eating, the sanitary arrangements I’m seen experiencing and the coughing attacks that strike me halfway up high mountains are doing more than any government could to persuade people to stay at home.”
However, travel firms use the phrase the “Palin effect to describe the surge in bookings for each destination he visits. The Adventure Company, which specialises in holidays off the beaten track, said that bookings for Peru tripled after he went to Machu Picchu.
Mark Wright, the managing director, said: “Palin put it in everyone’s living room. The same thing happened with his Himalayan series. People who might previously have been happy with two weeks in Benidorm are persuaded to try far-off places.”
The Association of British Travel Agents said: “In recent years, Palin has been more responsible than any other individual for inspiring people to travel to exotic locations.”
Transport 2000 has grown increasingly embarrassed not just by Palin’s journeys but his attempts to defend them. Its mission statement says it “seeks movement towards a society that relies less on cars, lorries and planes and makes more use of rail, buses, trams, cycling and walking”.
A foreword by Palin for its annual report was edited to remove a reference to the individual’s “right to fly”. Mayer Hillman, a founder member of Transport 2000 and an expert on sustainable transport, said: “Michael’s a lovely person but his flying means he is not an appropriate role model. He should consider his position because the president should set a good example.” Palin made a new year resolution last year to confine his travels to Europe. But within six weeks he flew to San Francisco.
In April, he dismissed reports that he would make no more travel programmes. He wrote: “The truth is that I could no more stop travelling than I could stop drawing breath.”
Stephen Joseph, director of Transport 2000, said Palin — who did not reply to questions put by The Times yesterday — had drawn attention to the environmental damage done by transport. “Criticisms of the travelling he does as part of his job miss the point. You can’t make a travel series in a London studio unless you want it to turn out as an Ealing comedy."
Ace-T
Merely exposes the hypocrisy of all the 'green' movement. They fly in their hundreds to conferences discussing the evils of global warming.
They proclaim we should all be using the train when less carbon dioxide is produced by a group of four going by car than by train on a long distance journey.
It is all a smoke shield to conceal their anti-capitalist, control freak agenda.
They proclaim we should all be using the train when less carbon dioxide is produced by a group of four going by car than by train on a long distance journey.
It is all a smoke shield to conceal their anti-capitalist, control freak agenda.
So in effect 2000 want no more of these educational documentories? no more programs about merecats, lions, leopard seals, tribes in South America, programs about other cultures, etc? All of these will use air transport, etc... Do they want a North korea type country where no-one can go anywhere??
Why does Palin see it as his duty to keep us on our sofas?
Id like to climb the Himalayas ta very much, or go base jumping off of Angel Falls, or trekking through the rainforest etc etc etc.
Why should he experience all of this while attempting to deny the rest of us the opportunity to explore our planet?
THE COCK!
Id like to climb the Himalayas ta very much, or go base jumping off of Angel Falls, or trekking through the rainforest etc etc etc.
Why should he experience all of this while attempting to deny the rest of us the opportunity to explore our planet?
THE COCK!
Jaglover said:
Merely exposes the hypocrisy of all the 'green' movement. They fly in their hundreds to conferences discussing the evils of global warming.
They proclaim we should all be using the train when less carbon dioxide is produced by a group of four going by car than by train on a long distance journey.
It is all a smoke shield to conceal their anti-capitalist, control freak agenda.
Andy Mac said:
Do they want a North korea type country where no-one can go anywhere??
They want to ration travel so capitalist oppressors don't get to travel more than the poor.
There was a series of programmes on TV a while back examining various political issues and some evil dwarf set out their scheme.
Everyone will be issued with a card allowing a certain amount of travel each year which you can't exceed.
No doubt the next step is to get every journey cleared in advance by the benevolent bureaucrat sat in his office.
king commies then?Lets get this right... the self interests of the transport industry Transport 2000 who are NOT an environmental group, want to get rid of their leading light? Transoport 2000 should be outed as they are in NO WAY environmentalists, they support cancer particulate exuding, and urine-smelling filthy buses and other forms of environmentally unfriendly and overpriced vehicles!!!
Good! Palin is a good comedian but thats all, a poor travelller who's always whinging.....
Good! Palin is a good comedian but thats all, a poor travelller who's always whinging.....
deltafox said:
Why does Palin see it as his duty to keep us on our sofas?
Id like to climb the Himalayas ta very much, or go base jumping off of Angel Falls, or trekking through the rainforest etc etc etc.
Why should he experience all of this while attempting to deny the rest of us the opportunity to explore our planet?
THE COCK!
erm... that statment by him was quite clearly a joke...
D_Mike said:
Why does Palin see it as his duty to keep us on our sofas?
Id like to climb the Himalayas ta very much, or go base jumping off of Angel Falls, or trekking through the rainforest etc etc etc.
Why should he experience all of this while attempting to deny the rest of us the opportunity to explore our planet?
THE COCK!
erm... that statment by him was quite clearly a joke...
Im not laughing...
Michael Palin said:
I shall continue to make travel programmes, secure in the knowledge that the food I’m seen eating, the sanitary arrangements I’m seen experiencing and the coughing attacks that strike me halfway up high mountains are doing more than any government could to persuade people to stay at home.
how can you not see that is said in jest, it's a self-deprecating comment that also comments on the arrogance of governments in believing that they can dictate to people what they can and cannot do. Clearly, Michael Palin believes that it is sensible to try to reduce carbon emmissions but does not believe that you should sacrifice pleasure, or "unnessecsary" (never could spell that word) travel to do so.
the whole Green thing falls down in my opinion when they start talking about what is "excessive". Ultimately, houses (rather than tents or caves), supermarkets (rather than subsistance farming or hunter-gathering) and any mechanical form of transport (rather than mules or camels or horses) is "excessive". Their argument is just about where to draw the line, and is therefore invalid because:
1. What one person deems a waste of money/greenhouse gas emmissions, another doesn't
and
2. It's unfair to enforce regulations on what sort of pollution a person can emit, becuase different people like different things. For example some people really like using dishwashers a lot (which is ok, or least this is implied given the absence of debate about their existence in modern society) but another person might really like 4x4s (which is not okay because they KILL CHILDREN and they POLLUTE THE PLANET FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS... etc.). Essentially, just because you think something is "wasteful" doesn't mean other people do, and so it unfair to inflict your opinion of what is wasteful and what is not on others through legistlation.
>> Edited by D_Mike on Saturday 14th January 13:19
Ace-T said:
[quote=Ben Webster in The Times]
He has flown more than a quarter of a million miles in the past 17 years while making his six TV series, which began in 1988 with his attempt to retrace the fictional footsteps of Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days. He has travelled across every continent, visited both poles and, most recently, climbed the Himalayas.
The whole point of Around The World In 80 Days was that he wasnt allowed to fly. So bad example
cotty said:
[quote=Ben Webster in The Times]
He has flown more than a quarter of a million miles in the past 17 years while making his six TV series, which began in 1988 with his attempt to retrace the fictional footsteps of Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days. He has travelled across every continent, visited both poles and, most recently, climbed the Himalayas.
The whole point of Around The World In 80 Days was that he wasnt allowed to fly. So bad example
unless it was editted of course.....
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