Harrison Ford called 'a hypocrite' for owning private planes after UN climate speech
Harrison Ford has found himself being accused of hypocrisy after delivering a speech at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York yesterday.
The actor addressed the issues of deforestation and now wildfires in the Amazon, and the urgency needed to address the problems.
“We've been talking about saving the Amazon for 30 years, and we're still talking about it,” Ford said.
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“The world's largest rainforest, the Amazon is crucial to any climate change solution for its capacity to sequester carbon, for its biodiversity, for its fresh water, for the air we breathe, for our morality. And it is on fire.
“When a room in your house is on fire, you don't say, 'There is a fire in a room in my house.' You say, 'My house is on fire,' and we only have one house.
"There is a new form of nature at hand, stirring all over the wold. They are the young people who, frankly, we have failed — who are angry, who are organized, who are capable of making a difference.
“They are a moral army. And the most important thing that we can do for them is to get the hell out of their way.”
But it wasn't long before critics were rounding on him, mainly focussing on the actor's decades-long love of aviation.
Said one: “Harrison Ford has an aviation hobby and he owns airplanes. Ford’s carbon footprint is multiples of the average person’s carbon foot print around the world. What would the world look like if everyone lived Ford’s lifestyle?”
Harrison Ford has an aviation hobby and he owns airplanes. Ford’s carbon footprint is multiples of the average person’s carbon foot print around the world. What would the world look like if everyone lived Ford’s lifestyle?
— Jeffrey W. Ludwig (@jwludwig) September 23, 2019
Many others chimed in too.
Harrison Ford owns 10 airplanes and at least as many cars and motorcycles.
He frequently brings a couple of his planes when shooting movies. https://t.co/OJDVwo8KX3— Rev. Ducati💬 (@Reverend_Ducati) September 24, 2019
We may metaphorically only have one house, but Harrison Ford personally has more than one house and gets between them in his jet.
— David Pecchia (@dpecchia) September 24, 2019
I hope he didn't forget to turn off his private jet's engine after parking it at the hangar.
— K. Bella (@kweexter) September 23, 2019
As long as my carbon footprint is smaller than Harrison Ford’s, I figure I’m doing my part to save the planet
— Stephe96 (@Stephe96) September 24, 2019
So says the guy who zips around in private jets.
— Jim (@Jim_the_Troll) September 23, 2019
An article in the Daily Mail from 2015 tallied up eight planes in his fleet, including an $18 million Cessna private jet, along with a helicopter, several motorbikes and dozens of classic cars.
Another interview from 2010 quoted him as saying: "All of my planes are great to fly, and that's why I've got so many of them…I'm so passionate about flying I often fly up the coast for a cheeseburger."
He famously crash landed in his two-seater PT- 22 on a golf course after running into engine troubles in 2015, sustaining minor injuries.
