For someone who claims that he is “terrified” of global warming, billionaire Hollywood film mogul Steven Spielberg certainly doesn’t walk the talk of a climate activist. A database compiled by Celebrity Jets has revealed that in the past two months, Spielberg’s Gulfstream G650 has burned through more than $116,000 worth of jet fuel.
Spielberg’s jet has flown at least 16 trips since June 23, logging nearly 17,000 miles according to data compiled by the ADS-B Exchange, a public source of unfiltered flight data.
In a 2018 interview, Spielberg commented, “I’m terrified of it. Global warming is a scientific reality, it’s not a political trick, it’s a true piece of real measurable quantifiable science.”
“People have to come around to believing that this is — we are going to have to have a kind of confrontation with destiny unless we do something about it today,” Spielberg said.
“When you’re not mindful of something that can pose a danger to your children and grandchildren, then you just go blithely through life with aerosol cans and all sorts of things that are depleting the ozone and you just don’t realize,” Spielberg said.
“I don’t think people are purposely trying to destroy the natural ability of our planet to reproduce … but it’s happening.”
Among the flights Spielberg’s Gulfstream G650 has taken is a June 29 flight in the Netherlands from Amsterdam Airport to Rotterdam Airport, which took a full 17 minutes. That less-than-30-minute flight could have been accomplished in just over half an hour in an automobile. Public transport in the area could have gotten the high-profile director there in about an hour.
The jet that Spielberg owns most recently took a 48-minute trip from Martha’s Vineyard to Teterboro, New Jersey.
The amount of carbon emitted by the average American is somewhere between seven and 20 metric tons per year, depending upon the source. Spielberg’s 48-minute jaunt from Martha’s Vineyard to New Jersey emitted four metric tons of CO2 by itself.
In just the past two months, Spielberg’s private jet usage is responsible for at least 179 metric tons of carbon dioxide.
As bad as it is, Spielberg’s climate hypocrisy pales in comparison to some of the entertainment and sports industries’ other climate hypocrites.
Singer Taylor Swift’s private jet has made some 170 flights, emitting an approximate 8,300 metric tons of CO2. Boxer Floyd Mayweather’s jet has made 177 flights, emitting approximately 7,070 metric tons of CO2. Rap mogul Jay Z’s private jet has made 136 flights, emitting nearly 7,000 metric tons of CO2.
The Celebrity Jets Twitter page does an excellent job of pointing out the climate hypocrisy of show-business elites.
Spielberg’s contribution to climate doom is relatively small when compared to Swift, Mayweather, and Jay Z, with only 61 flights emitting just under 4,500 metric tons of CO2.
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio has been busy shaming the world regarding their fossil fuel usage — even addressing the United Nations on the issue in 2016. That year DiCaprio took an 8,000-mile private jet ride from Europe to New York to accept an award for his environmental activism.
Also in 2016, the World Economic Forum gave DiCaprio its Crystal Award for his “leadership in tackling the climate crisis.” Yes, the Titanic star took a private jet to Davos as well. In November of last year, DiCaprio reportedly ditched the private jet.
Biden administration “climate envoy” John Kerry has made at least one similar private-jet flight to accept an award in Iceland for his leadership on the issue of climate change.
Pointing out the climate hypocrisy of people such as Spielberg, DiCaprio, and Kerry is like shooting fish in a barrel. Still, it needs to be done if only to prove that their words concerning the so-called climate crisis are empty, and that they should never be listened to about so-called climate change.
