Print
May 14, 2008 12:52 pm US/Eastern
Paul McCartney's Carbon Footprint Is Criticized
LONDON (AP) ―
-
-
Sir Paul McCartney performs on stage as part of the iTunes Festival at the Institute of Contemporary Arts on July 5, 2007 in London.
Getty Images
Sometimes it seems Paul McCartney can't win for losing.
The former Beatle has long been an outspoken advocate of
environmental causes and animal rights. He is a vegetarian who won't
even wear leather shoes. But now he's being criticized for having a
hybrid Japanese car flown to him in Britain rather than having it sent
by ship.
It must have seemed like a good idea at the time. The car in
question is an $158,000 Lexus LS 600h, a luxury sedan that offers both
high performance and a reassuring "green" patina because it uses a
hybrid system that relies on an electric motor at low speeds.
Best of all, it was to be a gift from the Lexus car company, which sponsored McCartney's 2005 tour of the United States.
But environmentalists quickly pointed out that the use of a cargo
plane to deliver the car to England completely offset any environmental
gains resulting from the car's use.
"It's like driving the car 300 times around the world," says Gary
Rumbold, the director of the British branch of co2balance, which helps
businesses and individuals gauge their carbon emissions footprint. "It
seems like somebody at Lexus made an error in judgment. They wanted to
get something to McCartney promptly, but it backfired. They should have
waited a few weeks and sent it by ship."
He said it would have been far less damaging to the environment in
terms of carbon emitted into the atmosphere to have shipped the car by
sea because so much more cargo can be fitted on a ship than in the
cargo hold of a jet.
Rumbold also questioned whether a high performance car such as the
LS Lexus 600h — with a powerful 1.3-gallon (5-liter) V-8 engine and a
top speed of 155 mph (250 kph) — is actually the best use of promising
hybrid technology.
It was not clear if McCartney knew the vehicle would be sent to him
via air freight rather than by ship. Rumbold said it seems likely the
singer was an innocent victim of a mistake made by Lexus executives.
McCartney's spokesman, Stuart Bell, confirmed that the musician had
received the car as a gift and that it had been flown to Britain, but
said he could not comment about the decision to use a plane until he
had all the details.
David Crouch, a spokesman for Lexus in Britain, said the company also would not comment on the McCartney car delivery.
He did say the LS 600h is a top-of-the-line hybrid designed to
compete against the expensive Mercedes S Class and BMW 7 Series since
its introduction in Britain late last year. Some 227 have been sold
despite the starting price, which rises quickly when more options are
added, he said.
"It's selling very well," he said. "You have a gasoline engine which
works in conjunction with an electric motor. What it means is the car
can run on either power source. At lower speeds it runs on electric
power so there is no fuel consumption and no emissions, and if you need
higher speeds, the petrol works with the electric motor to give you
what you need."
McCartney has had an unusually close relationship with Lexus in
recent years. In addition to the sponsorship deal, the ex-Beatle — who
shies away from product endorsements — has publicly praised Lexus for
producing environmentally sensitive cars.
The carmaker also produced a one-of-a-kind McCartney-themed hybrid
SUV that was sold off to benefit an anti-landmine charity favored by
McCartney and gave one of his recent CD releases a special spot on the
company's Web site.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
